Allegro's Crescendo
by Scarpaw
Summary: Allen was never found by Cross, or taken in by the Noah Family after trying to bring Mana back. Instead, he was taken in by a third party. Now, the Destroyer of Time goes by a new name. That name is... *AU; Re-write of the Series; Full summary inside*
1. The Decrescendo of Allen Walker

New story! ^_^ This is pretty much a melt-down and re-write of the D,Gray-Man series. This was inspired from seeing other stories where Allen was taken in by someone other than Cross, like Noah or Bookman, and I decided, "Hey! What would happen if Allen got taken in by someone who has absolutely nothing to do with the series?"

And thus, this plot bunny was born.

Because this is a re-write, I'm not going to go and re-do everything to fit the new reality. Some of the things will be re-done, but others will probably just be short snippets of flashbacks, unless it's really important. There will also be OC's, however I will try to keep them to a minimum.

Now, without further ado,

_Let the song begin._

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own D,Gray-Man. Maybe next time...?**

_**Allegro's Crescendo**_

_Allen was never found by Cross after attempting to bring Mana back. Neither did the Millennium Earl or the Noah's take him in. No, a third party found young Allen instead, and from that day on, he wasn't 'Allen' anymore. Instead, the Destroyer of Time gained a new name. That name was…_

**The First Movement: The Decrescendo of Allen Walker**

"_Allen… I love you. Please… Kill me."_ Those were the words that ran over and over through the now thrice-orphaned Allen Walker's head. They circled on an endless loop, tears streaming down his cheeks, the left side of his face streaming tears of blood. Everything was quiet in the graveyard, save for Allen's sniffling, until…

"Ow! God Damnit…" A circular beam of light showed up on the far side of the cemetery, growing larger as the owner came closer. "Stupid grave markers… Stupid kids on dares in the middle of the night at the grave yard…"

As the light of beam ascended closer to Allen's spot, the darkness brightened enough to show that the voice's owner was a woman of maybe twenty, with dark colored hair. She was wearing a black overcoat, and a flashlight was held in her hand. The light beam came closer, and passed over Allen's face, blinding him for a moment as spots muddled his already slightly muddied vision.

"Hey, kid, you need to get out of here." The woman's voice carried over. "I've dealt with the man who takes care of this grave yard before, and he's not the nicest person in the… Oh God…" The flashlight dropped to the ground, rolling away a little as it hit the ground.

That was the last that Allen saw though, for his vision seemed to have failed him at that point. His hearing went next, for the last he heard was the sound of rushed footsteps towards him, and then he knew nothing.

Just darkness.

_~~Crescendo-ing towards an impossible sound, at a more impossible speed~~_

Erika Knox prided herself on being a composed person, most of the time. But now, now she didn't know what to do. Now, she was wishing that it was currently six hours earlier, back before she had found the little boy in the grave yard.

The guest bedroom of her modest home was currently filled with screaming, and Erika was glad the window was shut and locked, though little barrier it gave the outside from the wails of the little boy curled up in the fetal position on the bed. She couldn't think of anything else to try and stop his cries. She was about ready to give in and phone her mother, or even her best friend Claire, about her situation when she noticed the item in the corner of the room.

Her guest bedroom was rarely used, for she was originally from America and not England, so her family almost never visited. She used it as mainly storage, though every once in a blue moon it was cleaned out for usage by a colleague or friend that she had made over here in England.

And, seeing as she used the room as storage, there was a [much disused] piano in the one corner of the room. The last time Erika had played was right before she graduated college, but she still remembered some songs she had taught herself. She opened the cover of the piano, and ran a hand over the keys to try and get rid of some of the film that was covering them before she placed her fingers to the keys and started playing.

It wasn't beautiful or anything, and, hell, most of the keys were out of tune, but it produced the desired effect. It was a simple lullaby, short, but she repeated it in a loop, and much to her pleasure, it calmed the boy a little. Soon, the boys' screaming was reduced to small sobbing, and shortly after Erika had managed to put him to sleep once more… Just in time for her doorbell to ring.

She ran down the stairs towards the front door, and called out softly, as to not wake her now-sleeping house guest,

"Coming!"

She didn't bother looking out the peep hole, but she regretted it when she opened the door.

_~~That is **Allegro's Crescendo**~~_

"Erika, are you okay in there?" The man on the other side of the door asked a gun in one hand, police hat in the other.

"Yeah, I am Middlesford." Erika answered. "Why?"

"There was screaming…" Middlesford wasn't looking at her, but over her shoulder towards the interior of her house. Finally he looked at her, and nearly stumbled back in surprise. "You're covered in blood!"

Erika looked down, and realized with surprise that, yes, she _was_ covered in blood. She said the first thing that came to mind, which, in all actuality, probably wasn't the best thing to say.

"I-It isn't mine!" However, instead of relieving Middlesford, it merely alarmed him some more.

"Whose is it then?" Erika wasn't given a chance to respond, though. "Miss Knox, I'm afraid I'm going to have to request entry, otherwise it won't be pretty." Erika scowled.

Middlesford was never a very… _enthusiastic_ cop to begin with, and he rarely did something unless there was personal gain for him in it. Erika was willing to bet her month's paycheck that the only reason why he came running to see if everything was alright was because he wanted the glory if he 'saved' her from some faceless attacker. Now, she was willing to bet this month's and next month's paycheck that he was assuming her to be some sort of attacker or murderer now and that the screaming was some sort of 'victim' of hers [other than being a victim of bad piano playing, of course.]

"Knock yourself out," Erika stepped aside. "There's nothing incriminating in here."

"That's what they all say," Middlesford remarked haughtily, striding into the home like he owned the place while Erika practically frothed at the mouth behind him.

It was nearly two hours later when Erika and Middlesford reached the last room of the house Middlesford had yet to 'clear'- which, coincidentally, was the guest room where Erika's guest was currently sleeping. Needless to say, Middlesford noticed her guest almost immediately when he opened [slammed] the door to the guest room.

"Ah, what have we here?" Erika sighed as Middlesford approached the bed. "A soon to be murder victim? Well, looks like I came at the right time. Miss Knox you are under-"

"Can it Middlesford." Erika sighed. Making her way over to the bed, she sat on the side, and ran a hand through the light brown hair that covered the young boys' head.

"I found him at the grave yard, in front of one of the graves." Erika explained. "His face was bleeding, like somebody had tried to blind him on his left side." As if to prove a point, the young boy rolled over, showing the bandages that covered the left side of his face.

"H-How do I know you aren't lying?" Middlesford tried, but Erika rolled her eyes.

"I'm not," Erika insisted. "However, think what you like. If you wish to persecute me for being a Good Samaritan, then so be it. But, until then, I'd appreciate it if you got the hell out of my house."

"This isn't the end, Knox." Middlesford growled. "I swear it!" But he left, leaving Erika alone once more.

Sighing, she looked down at the boy on the bed.

'_I need to find some clothes for him…'_ She thought, before looking down at herself. '_And change as well…_'

She head for the door, ready to leave to go down to her own room, before she stopped at the door, looking back at the sleeping boy on the bed.

"Just what happened to you, I wonder…"

_~~He decrescendos until you can't notice him any more~_

Meanwhile, over in the cemetery…

"Damnit! Where is that brat?"

A man with blood red hair scowled, cigarette dangling from his lips, gun held in his hand. A golden bird-like thing was resting atop his hat, and his coat bore a golden symbol with a cross. He stared at the blood in front of the grave he was at with distaste.

"He can't be dead yet… There's no way he would've allowed it…"

_~~Allen's Decrescendo~~_

Can anyone guess who that was at the end?

Anyways, things are going to be slow going in the beginning. The real action won't start until around the third or fourth chapter. Like I said before this started, there will be OC's, but the only one that is going to be of real importance is going to be Erika.

If you have any questions, I will answer them to the best of my ability without revealing too much of the plot or upcoming chapters.

Until next time in **_Allegro's Crescendo: The Song's Ritard_**

_...He had been searching thirty years for him. And now, the brat had just slipped out of his grasp and out of his sight at the wrong time..._

Please read and review! ^_^

~~Paw-Chan Signing Out~~


	2. The Song's Ritard

Soooo... This was actually supposed to be updated yesterday, but because of my busy schedule, it's up today. ^_^ I'm glad everybody's enjoyed this so far, it makes me really happy. I hope you guys will all stick with this as the story progresses.

Second chapter: In which Erika learns she knows pretty much nothing about taking care of kids, and other stuff happens.

Read and enjoy~! ^_^

**Disclaimer: I don't own D,Gray-Man. I do, however, own any and all OC's that show up, unless otherwise mentioned.**

_**Allegro's Crescendo**_

_Allen was never found by Cross after attempting to bring Mana back. Neither did the Millennium Earl or the Noah's take him in. No, a third party found young Allen instead, and from that day on, he wasn't 'Allen' anymore. Instead, the Destroyer of Time gained a new name. That name was…_

**The Second Movement: The Song's Ritard**

"Won't you speak? Please?" A tray of cold breakfast rested on the near-by nightstand, while Erika looked on at the young boy curled on the bed with eyes filled with tears that she was determined not to let fall. She knew while it was unreasonable that the boy would like her only after her just bringing him home last night, she thought the boy would at least speak.

Though, he hadn't said a word. She was up at eight; he woke up at eight-thirty. She made breakfast, but he hadn't touched it. Erika had brought clothes with her, but he wouldn't change into them [and yes, she had left the room to give him some privacy, thank you very much]. He wouldn't even talk. He just… sat there and stared on at the other side of the room, like there was something very interesting.

She sighed, and leaned back in her chair.

"Won't you tell me your name at least?" Silence. A blink.

Erika waited five minutes for an answer, and received none.

"Something really bad must have happened to you in that grave yard for this to happen to you." Erika looked up towards the ceiling. "I can't imagine what it must be like for you… That grave you were at… That must have been the grave of someone you were really close to, huh?"

She stood up, moving the chair to the side of the wall, and picked up the tray with the cold breakfast on it.

"I'll be downstairs if you need anything," Erika informed the boy as she exited, neither expecting nor receiving a response or an acknowledgement.

_~~It slows down, slows, until it is at a barely moving pace~~_

He had searched for the little brat for three days now. Timcampy hadn't found anything from flying around the city the past few times, but Cross was [not that he'd admit it to anyone else, of course] hoping that there'd be something about the kid this time because, fuck it all, he was worried about the kid God Damnit! He hadn't kept an eye on the kid all this time just to allow him to up and vanish like he did!

Cross had been searching _thirty years_ for him. And now, the brat had just slipped out of his grasp and out of his sight at the wrong time. He knew he should've been at that cemetery, waiting for the Earl to show up, because the Earl was sure to with how the brat had been moping over Mana Walker's death, but he hadn't. He had allowed himself to ahh… get distracted, shall we say, and missed everything- straight from the Earl's arrival to the disappearance of the brat.

Cross Marian wasn't a happy camper, and he was so unhappy that he was on his fifth pack of cigarettes in three days, soon to be sixth. And that was bad because he wasn't normally that bad of a chain smoker. Oh well… At least he hadn't started drowning his 'sorrows' or 'bad luck' or whatever in alcohol… yet…

He looked over at the bar across the street, then shook his head. No, he was going to find the brat first. Then, Cross was going to make him suffer for making him go through so much just to find the brat.

Revenge on the brat would be sweet; Cross would make sure of that.

_~~The song's Ritard down to Andante~~_

"Open up," Erika held out a spoon towards the boys' mouth, much like a mother would do to their one or two year old. "Say, 'Ahh!'"

It had been three days already, and the boy hadn't done anything, besides sleep. He would wake up in the morning, and stare at the wall opposite of the bed he inhabited. He wouldn't eat, he wouldn't speak, he wouldn't even go use the bathroom on his own- he'd just go ahead and wet the bed.

After the first day, Erika had taken to feeding the boy herself, like she remembered seeing her neighbor feed their eighteen month old. She also had to start changing the sheets on the guest bed, cleaning them and the boys' clothes as well. Erika had also started cleaning out the guest room, if only to give her a reason to be in the same room as the boy.

Normally she would be in at work, but she had called in, and was given time off. As she worked for the local police station, Middlesford had inadvertently helped her, as they wanted her out of the office anyways as they tried to sort this out.

"C'mon, open up," Erika hedged. Normally he'd open his mouth by now at least, but he hadn't done anything so far today. "I didn't want to do this, but…"

She leaned over the boy further and pinched her finger over the bridge of his nose, cutting off the air passage through the nostrils. If the boy wanted to breathe, he'd have to do so through his mouth. It was a mean route, one normally taken by irate mothers trying to get their children to take their medicine, but Erika _was_ irate, and she wanted the boy to eat, because she wasn't about to have him starve on her watch.

When she got him to eat half the plate, she finally left, to try and clean up a bit before it was time to prepare the next meal.

_~~First the song decrescendos, then it ritards~~_

Erika had been caring for the boy for five days before she realized something very important- she never learned his name. Or had a name to call him, seeing as he hadn't spoken once since she brought him into her house.

Her realization had come to her when she came up one night after supper to put him to bed. She had said "Goodnight," like she always did, but found herself trying to go on, like she used to do when she was a kid, saying goodnight to one of her friends or siblings or parents. Except, this little boy had no name for her to say.

"That's right, you never told me your name," Erika mused aloud as she shifted the boy into a lying down position. "Do you want to tell me your name?"

She received no response, and she sighed.

"Do you mind if I give you a name? At least to call you until you tell me your real one?" There was no response again, and Erika took that as permission.

"How about I call you…" She thought about it for a moment. "Allegro." Erika let out a laugh and looked at the boy- no, at Allegro.

"Yeah, Allegro sounds perfect for you." Erika pulled the blanket up and over his prone form. Then, she didn't know what possessed her to do it, but as she looked at the newly-named Allegro, Erika couldn't help but lean over and press a small kiss to his forehead.

"Goodnight Allegro," Erika smiled as she made her way out of the room, pausing at the door to shut the lights off.

"See you in the morning."

And, if just for a moment, everything seemed right.

_~~That is how the song begins~~_

Timcampy finally came back, two days later, making it five days since the brats' disappearance from the cemetery. The golem had perched itself in Cross' hand and opened it mouth, a recording coming up in front of Cross. It wasn't much, but it gave him at least a lead.

With Timcampy leading, Cross set out across the city to find [and retrieve] the nuisance of a host that has already taken him this long to find, without the added trouble the brat was putting on top of it now.

_"How's your little cemetery stray, Erika?"_

_**~~Allegro's Crescendo~~**_

There you have it, chapter 2. Again, not much action, but I promise, it picks up next chapter and chapter 4.

If you have any questions on the story or on updates, feel free to review/pm me and let me know so I can try and answer them to the best of my ability.

Until next time in _**Allegro's Crescendo: The Sforzando Piano**_

_"Inno...cence... Innocence" ... "Where is the Innocence, human?"_

Read and Review, please! ^_^

~~Paw-Chan Signing Out~~


	3. The Sforzando Piano

It's Sunday October 30th, which can only mean one thing! ...Yes, it's the day before Halloween, but not just that! As it's a Sunday, that means it's time for an update~!

This time around we actually get some action in. ^_^

Now, let the Third Movement commence!

**Disclaimer: Still don't own D,Gray-Man.**

_**Allegro's Crescendo**_

_Allen was never found by Cross after attempting to bring Mana back. Neither did the Millennium Earl or the Noah's take him in. No, a third party found young Allen instead, and from that day on, he wasn't 'Allen' anymore. Instead, the Destroyer of Time gained a new name. That name was…_

**The Third Movement: The Sforzando Piano**

"Did your mama or papa ever read aloud to you like this Allegro?" Erika looked up from the book she had been reading out of to look at Allegro. He was still curled up in a ball, staring at the other side of the room, like he had been the entire day. Looking at the top of his head, though, she could see that his hair was starting to bleach white, and strips of it were lightening down the sides of his head.

What a shock he had to have gone through to turn his hair white…

It'd been a little over a week since she had adopted her, as the neighbors like to call Allegro, 'cemetery stray'. And while it was reasonable, with what sort of shock he had gone through, she had at least kind of hoped that he would be able to at least do some things by himself, without her doing everything. It wasn't that she regretted bringing Allegro home or anything, but still. She was brand new to this whole 'mothering' business and whatnot.

"Did your parents have anything inspirational they'd always say to you to get your spirits up Allegro?" Erika asked, setting the book aside, drawing her legs up into herself, placing herself into a similar ball as Allegro; toes curling over the edge of the chair, tipping her head back to look at the ceiling.

"You know," She explained, "like, 'A chance not taken is a chance regretted' or 'If wishes were fishes we'd all cast nets'? My parents would always say things like that…" Erika sighed, wondering what sort of advice her parents would give her in this situation.

"Never stop walking." The sudden sound in the previously quiet room nearly made Erika fall off her chair. That voice… It couldn't belong to… She snapped her head towards Allegro, just in time to watch as his mouth moved, saying,

"Keep moving forward."

She couldn't believe it- couldn't believe that Allegro had finally spoken. Erika caught herself, and shook her head to get herself out of her shock.

"That's nice," She managed a smile towards Allegro, "Is that something your papa would always tell you?"

Erika wanted to hear him speak again. It was such a surprise to hear Allegro speak, and she wanted to make sure that she hadn't imagined him speaking the first time.

"Mana." Allegro said after a time, tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. "Mana always said that."

Erika saw the beginning of the tears, and backed off. This was dangerous territory she was starting to tread into, and she did not want to lose the progress she had finally made with Allegro. She set her feet down on the ground and reached an uncertain hand out towards Allegro.

"You don't have to talk about this if you don't want to Allegro," Erika informed him, before pausing, and saying, "If you're alright with me still calling you Allegro."

Before Erika could get an answer though, a loud _thump!_ and _crash!_ caught her attention. The sounds of the front door being slammed open [the thump] and something breaking [the crash] put her on red-alert. Was someone breaking in?

Her gun issued by the police station was in the drawer by the front door, but if she remembered correctly… Her hands opened the drawers of the nearby dresser on autopilot, finding the revolver that her best [guy] friend had given her as a going away present before she had left for England. A quick check confirmed that it was loaded.

"Allegro." Her voice was sharp, like it had been when she had been instructing underclassmen back in high school. "Stay put- do _not_ leave the room." Not like she had been expecting him to go anywhere, but then again, he surprised her with talking today, so who knew what other surprises he had for her.

She quietly shut the door before making her way down the hall towards the staircase that led to the front hall and, coincidentally, the front door as well.

_~~A blast of sound in your ear, before it vanishes~~_

The hallway seemed to drag on forever, as Erika walked down it towards the staircase. The noise had stopped for now, but there was not any guarantee that it whoever had caused it initially wasn't still in the house. She had to make sure that either the intruder was gone, or to get rid of them herself. It wasn't just herself that Erika was worrying about anymore; she also had Allegro to think about as well.

She made her way down the stairs slowly, minding to skip the third step from the top [it had an awful creak] as she made her way to the first floor landing. There was no one in direct sight of the front door and staircase, but there were entranceways on either side of the staircase as well as along the side of it that led to the various rooms of her home. There was no telling which way the intruder went, or what they were even after.

Erika stepped off the last step, and held her revolver out in front of her, debating which way to go, until she heard a sound coming from her left, in the direction of the kitchen.

Her bare feet made no sound as she tramped lightly across the hardwood floor that stood between the stairs and the entrance to the kitchen. She paused at the door, and there was a moment as she held her breath, listening to the noises that continued from the kitchen.

Finally, she made the decision, and Erika stepped through the doorway into the kitchen.

What she saw, although it did not cause her to drop her gun, did cause her to lose her fear.

_~~The Sforzando Piano~~_

"Janice!" Erika recognized the girl. She was a little girl who used to live across the street from Erika until she lost her family in a house fire this past spring. Janice wasn't any older than about what Erika assumed Allegro to be- she was ten. Erika hadn't seen the child since the funeral; everybody in the development just assumed she went off to live with relatives.

"What are you doing here?" Erika continued, lowering her weapon, walking towards the child. "You understand that I could've shot you by accident, ri…ght?" Erika stopped as Janice turned from her spot and looked at her.

Her eyes… they weren't the same as the eyes of the little girl she knew before. Before, they were inviting and daring, welcoming anyone to challenge her to do anything, and she'd do it- or at least attempt it -, whether it be clean her room in five minutes or steal a mailbox bolted to a house frame in the middle of the day. Now though, now they were cold and hard, and nothing like what they used to be.

"Inno… cence…" Janice's mouth moved, the word falling out like she was uncertain about it. Erika repeated it, confused.

"Innocence?" She took a step closer towards the child, hand still on the gun. "What are you talking about?

"Innocence." Janice looked at Erika with such a cold look that she almost took a step back. "Where is the Innocence, human?"

"Janice, what's going on?" Erika lifted the gun up and aimed it towards the child. "What are you talking about?"

The little girl opened her mouth, but, instead of the words Erika was expecting to come out, a large mechanical gun was formed. Erika couldn't help but scream, firing off two rounds at the child as she backed out of the room, both bullets glancing off of the girl's face- which had now gained a metallic sheen to it.

She didn't know what to do. The phone line for her house was currently down, had been for the past two weeks. She hadn't had had a reason or time to get it fixed before, but now, she was desperately wishing the she had taken the time to get it done.

Before Erika could think of anything else to do, the sound of something powering up gained her attention. She didn't have anything in the kitchen that would be turning on right then, but her eyes caught sight of the thing that was posing as Janice.

Erika didn't think, just reacted, and dove as the gun fired.

_~~In __**Allegro's Crescendo**~~_

So, fess up- who caught on right away that it was gonna be an Akuma that Erika was going to find, and who thought it was going to be Cross? No need to be shy.

And, actually, mentioning Cross, he didn't appear this chapter, did he? Well, don't worry. He'll be back, that persnickety jerk that he is.

So please, read and review the more reviews, the happier I am, and the more motivated I am to write! ^_^ And remember, if you have questions you want to ask, or don't know if you want to ask, drop me a review or a pm and I'll answer it to the best of my ability! ^_^

_Next time on **Allegro's Crescendo: Staccato and Legato**_

_He heard gunshot echo through the still of the night, followed quickly by a second, and his pace quickened a little. A third one came, and though the first two sounded like bullets from a man-made gun [almost like his faithful Judgment] would, the third there was no doubt about what it was from._

Read, Review, and tell me what you think! ^_^

~~Paw-Chan Signing Out~~


	4. Staccato and Legato

Hi~! Sorry about not updating last week... Things got a little crazy the week prior to update, and because if that, I wasn't able to get to where I wanted to be before updating. I'm still not quite where I want to be before updating, but I'm far enough that I can stamp out my conscience...

Anyway! I'm happy to see how many of you like _Allegro's __Crescendo_ so far, and I want to thank all of you who have Reviewed/Favorited/Alerted the story. I have more than I imagined I would have when I started this out, so thank you! ^_^

Now, enough with the chatter- let's begin the fourth movement!

**Disclaimer: I do not own D,Gray-Man. I do, however, own a 5-year old cell phone with a cracked screen with tape over it...**

_**Allegro's Crescendo**_

_Allen was never found by Cross after attempting to bring Mana back. Neither did the Millennium Earl or the Noah's take him in. No, a third party found young Allen instead, and from that day on, he wasn't 'Allen' anymore. Instead, the Destroyer of Time gained a new name. That name was…_

**The Fourth Movement: Staccato and Legato**

Cross followed Timcampy all the way across the city, to the other side, to the side where the cemetery was that Walker had been buried at. He was currently cursing himself, wondering how the hell he had missed the brat if he had been so close to the cemetery he had originally been at, when four blocks from the hill the cemetery was located at Tim suddenly veered off down an alley.

It was a narrow side street, hardly fit to be called an alley even. There was barely enough room for Cross to squeeze down it, despite the fact that he was a grown man. For a child, especially one as small as the brat, it was probably a breeze to slip through here, but that did nothing to hold back the ever bubbling pot that was Cross' anger at the brat right then.

For a brief moment the thought was entertained that perhaps the brat was hiding down this path, but he quickly dismissed the thought. The brat had been missing for more than a week now, and even if he had spent a few days, it wasn't sheltered enough to spare him from the wandering eye from any passer-by, who might take an interest in him. Besides, Tim hadn't stopped yet, which meant that even if the brat _had_ spent some time in the alley, he was long gone to a different place.

Tim waited for him briefly at the end of the alley, and when Cross finally squeezed himself out, he found that they were on a one-sided street, with nothing but a dirt road between what was left of the city and an open field that was taken up by a few houses down the way closer to the edge of the city towards the cemetery. He followed Tim at a sedated pace, as they set off towards the houses that were the closest to the edge of the city. There was one house as they got close that still had its lights on.

He heard gunshot echo through the still of the night, followed quickly by a second, and his pace quickened a little. A third one came, and though the first two sounded like bullets from a man-made gun [almost like his faithful Judgment] would, the third there was no doubt about what it was from.

_Akuma._

He didn't realize that he was practically running until he realized the night was unnaturally still once more. Did the Akuma get whoever it was after? Was it the Earl the one there and stopped the Akuma's assault on the person? [Cross sort of hoped it was the fatso- he needed someone to take his anger out on.]

And then, when he was almost at the house, a fourth gunshot sounded, and Cross watched as the side of the house shook, before part of the wall crumbled away.

Grinning, Judgment was pulled out. Finally, there was something to take his anger out on.

_~~Short and crisp, crisp, crisper still, otherwise it isn't Staccato~~_

Erika held a hand over her heart, breathing heavily, staring at the smoking hole that used to be the door to the cupboard under her stairs. Her heart was beating so fast that it felt like it was going to thump its way right out of her chest. That… That could've been her. If she had been even a second slower, she could've been…

Erika tried not to think of it as she scrambled to her feet. That… _thing_, whatever it was, was obviously unstable. She had to get out, before it killed her.

She had only taken one step towards the front door before she realized something- Allegro was still upstairs. She had to go upstairs and get him before she could leave. Whatever it was that had been impersonating Janice hadn't come out from the kitchen yet, so it was safe for Erika to assume that it presumed her to be dead.

Which meant she had to be as quiet as possible as she made her way to and up the staircase to fetch Allegro. With any luck, [and this was a real stretch] the thing would go away on its own.

She took one step, then another, holding her breath all the while as she went. Third… Fourth… Then, as she took the fifth step the wood creaked. She sucked in a harsh breath, and almost like a flash, the thing that had taken on the appearance of Janice had appeared in the short hall.

"Hmm…?" It hummed like a child would. "You aren't dead?" It let out a demented sounding laugh that was a scary twist between a child's high-pitched laugh and the laugh of something out of a horror story.

"I guess we'll have to fix that."

_~~Swiftly, flowing together like a stream yet still separated, that is Legato~~_

Erika reacted first, sparing no time to think. She didn't wait for the whatever-it-was to finish its freakish transformation or what the hell it was doing; she just grabbed her hands on the rails of the banister of the staircase and hauled herself up it, scaling the wall and heaving herself over the railing, like a delinquent would haul themselves over a tall fence [when she definitely was _not_ a delinquent.]

She didn't look behind her, she just sprinted up the stairs and down the hall towards the guest room; the room where she had left Allegro. She stumbled once as she reached the landing; the whatever-it-was had fired off its gun once more, but Erika had been too fast for it and it had missed by a mile.

Though her torso had already stopped, as she made it to the guest room [which she should really be calling Allegro's room by now] her lower body was still moving even as she threw open the door. Erika held onto the frame of the door as she forced her body to go a different direction as she rushed into the bedroom.

Ignoring Allegro for the moment, she sped her way over to the pile of children's clothes she had on the one box that she had gotten for Allegro. She rummaged through until she found the coat she got for him. He hadn't had had a use for one before, but now, as they were leaving the house into the cold to escape the monster, he needed it. He remained motionless, still staring at the other side of the room as Erika moved as quickly as humanely possible, putting the coat on him before not bother with shoes- they'd take too long to put on.

In one swift movement she had picked Allegro up into her arms, cradling him sufficiently enough in her arms that even at a fast pace she wouldn't have to worry about dropping the small child until they were a good distance away. Erika took one step out into the hall, turned to face the direction of the steps, then froze.

She turned back into the room, pressing her back up against the wall, keeping a tight hold on Allegro. It was at the end of the hall, and, although it didn't notice her, that didn't mean they were out of the clear. If they kept quiet enough, maybe it would go away, but that meant that they- Allegro and herself -had to be as quiet as-

Allegro shifted in her arms, squirming, before his hands came up to his face and he started wailing.

A noise came from the end of the hall, and all Erika could think to say was,

"Oh shit."

_~~Legato and Staccato~~_

The Akuma was nowhere in sight when he made it to the house. The downstairs was empty, but the destruction was enough evidence to show that the Akuma had definitely been there. That didn't mean the Akuma wasn't still there, though.

As if answering his unsaid question asking where the Akuma was, Cross had barely moved from the door frame he had stopped at, wondering where the damned Akuma was, screaming echoed down the stairwell from the second floor.

_~~**Allegro's ****Crescendo**~~_

__And end fourth movement! ^_^ Like always, if you have any questions, you may ask, and thanks for reading!

Please review, because, not only do they make me happy, but they also motivate me to write more [when I have time] and get more chapters done for more regular updates! ^_^

_Next time in **Allegro's Crescendo: Mezzo-forte**_

_Erika stared at the cut across the small face, the cut, which a little more than a week ago, had been a bloody gash that refused to stop bleeding. Refused to heal, and caused the little boy in her care- her cemetery stray -an infinite amount of pain. A gash that, without a doubt, was meant to scar._

_Not in this way though._

Read and Review please!

~~Paw-Chan Signing Out~~


	5. Mezzo Forte

Hey, Paw-chan here with the Fifth Movement~! ^_^ Sorry about the missed update last Sunday. Chapter wasn't complete, and I was gone for over half the day because of District Band Auditions. By the time I got home, my mom was on the main computer [where chapter five was located] and I only had access to the laptop [which didn't have chapter five].

But, it's here now, so fret not~! ^_^

This chapter, Erika and Cross finally meet, and we learn who Allegro really is~! [Pfft, like we all didn't know already.]

I hope you enjoy the Fifth Movement of **_Allegro's Crescendo!_**

**[Warning: There is some language in this chapter that is a _little_ strong. You've been warned.]**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own D,Gray-Man**

_**Allegro's Crescendo**_

_Allen was never found by Cross after attempting to bring Mana back. Neither did the Millennium Earl or the Noah's take him in. No, a third party found young Allen instead, and from that day on, he wasn't 'Allen' anymore. Instead, the Destroyer of Time gained a new name. That name was…_

**The Fifth Movement: Mezzo-Forte**

"C'mon Allegro, stop it, please, stop!" Erika pleaded in a soft tone, though it wasn't needed seeing as the monster at the end of the hall was most likely already tuned to their location because of Allegro's screaming.

But he wouldn't stop. He thrashed in Erika's arms, arms flailing, sometimes hitting Erika, other times grasping at the bandages that were wrapped around his left eye still. Allegro's hand got a lucky grasp on the bandages, and tore the wrap partially from the eye. Erika shifted Allegro in her grasp, and sidled further down the wall, deeper into the guest room.

She reached her own hand up to the bandages, swatting off Allegro's flailing ones, and undid them herself. Erika stared at the cut across the small face, the cut, which a little more than a week ago, had been a bloody gash that refused to stop bleeding. Refused to heal, and caused the little boy in her care- her cemetery stray -an infinite amount of pain. A gash that, without a doubt, was meant to scar.

Not in this way though.

When Erika thought of a scar, she thought of something small. Jagged, maybe, depending on how the cut was taken care of. A thin or fat line, depending on the width of the cause of the wound. When she saw Allegro's gash, she thought him lucky to still have an eye, and she knew that he would have a horrible scar once it was healed. A messy scar, jagged, almost as wide as his eye socket.

His scar, though, was nothing of the sort. None of those things- not jagged, not messy, none of it. In fact, it was so strange, Erika found herself almost forgetting the direness of the current situation with wondering how his gash turned into what it was now, with no outside help.

At the top was an inverted star, a pentacle, the point facing down towards his eye, with a line going straight down over his eyelid [she could see, because his eye was still closed]. The line went down a bit more, before it formed a corner and went off towards his ear a little bit, before curving down to score down his cheek some. And then, between his eye and the first corner, there was a line cutting through horizontally the line that was scoring vertically down his face, forming some sort of a cross.

"_Heheh, where are you?"_ The thing, whatever it was, taunted as it undoubtedly came down the hall towards the room. Erika could tell it was playing with them, for it had to hear Allegro's howls. It was playing with them just like a mother would play hide and seek with a young child who was in an obvious hiding spot.

"_There you are!_" Disjointed words fell from the monster's mouth as it stepped into the room.

"Here I am," Erika replied, an echo, her words strangely calm as she held Allegro against her one side, and raised her gun on the other.

Before Erika could do anything though, a whirring filled the room, and the area around Erika and Allegro started glowing. Save for the whirring, there was no sound until…

"So this is where you are, you bastard."

It was a man, Erika observed, a small scowl setting on her face. Bright red hair, with contrasting dark clothes. He wore a black hat with gold around the inner rim, and his dark coat had gold adornments as well, with what looked like a symbol over his heart. Flapping above his head was gold looking bird-thing, and it looked as if it had a cross on its front.

"Exorcist," The monster hissed. Erika looked between the two, back and forth, her arms keeping a tight grip on Allegro and her gun. Exorcist? Sure there were exorcists, but that was for the superstitious- those who believed their houses were haunted by _ghosts_, not infested with some weird gun-firing mechanical monsters.

And Erika definitely did _not_ believe in ghosts.

There was an echo, a distinct bang of a gun going off, followed by a second. Then…

_Dust?_

_~~Moderately Loud~~_

The Level Two went down with one hit, which wasn't very much fun for Cross. But the second shot the followed shortly after his reminded him that he was not the only one in the room. And, sure enough, across the room were two people, one of which who undoubtedly was the object of his search.

The person who had shot the gun was a woman; brown hair flew wildly around her shoulders and matching brown eyes that held a mix of fear and anger in them. Her right hand held her gun firmly, and now that the Akuma was gone, it was trained on him. The woman's other arm was wrapped around the kid.

The kid was definitely the cheeky little brat who allowed Mana Walker drag around and call him Allen. But now, he wasn't showing any of the vitality he had had when he'd been with Walker. His rats' nest of hair, which was once a dark shade of brown, now had white streaks starting to bleach their way down from his crown to the tips. Allen had a scar down the side of his face- no doubt a curse, or something of the sort -from when the Akuma that was his foster father attacked him. If it wasn't for the deadened look in his eyes, Cross would've said he was still the same brat as he had been before Mana Walker had died.

But he wasn't. Whether it was because of the incident between him and the Earl, because of the woman who had taken him for the past week and a half, or because of… _him_, the brat had changed. And, looking at the brat, who was sheltered snugly against the woman's side, Cross wasn't sure whether it was for the better or the worse.

"What the hell was that?" Her voice was a little shaky, but that was the only sign on her body of her fear. Her body wasn't shaking, and her hands were steady- steadily pointing her gun at him, he noticed.

"An Akuma." Cross answered simply.

"What are you talking about?" The woman didn't move from her spot, didn't do a thing, yet just with her voice she made herself seem a little more intimidating. "Akuma aren't real. They're a story made up by adults to scare little kids."

"Not all stories are made up," Cross answered simply.

"So, what then?" She asked. "Do you fancy yourself as some- some demon hunter? Fighting something that doesn't exist?"

"Actually, the professional term is Exorcist," Cross snorted as he pulled out a cigarette, lighting it. "But, yeah, that pretty much sums up the job."

"You're kidding me."

"Actually, I'm serious." Cross blew out a puff of smoke before taking another drag off of his cigarette.

"How else do you think the brat there got that scar?"

_~~Mezzo-forte~~_

"Well, of course,-" Erika started to say in retaliation to the crimson haired man, when she froze. Realizing that she didn't have a concrete reason as to why Allegro had that scar. She had speculations as to why, but she didn't know the actual reason. Each idea though, seemed more unrealistic than the last.

"It was an Akuma," The man said, and Erika grimaced as he tapped ash from his cigarette onto the floor. "Why do you think the brat had such a violent reaction to the Akuma?"

"First off, stop calling him a brat!" Erika found herself snapping, angry at the man. "He has a name, you know! And who the hell are you anyway?" The man looked startled, but Erika either didn't notice or didn't care.

"And second off, what sort of kid wouldn't be scared of… of that?" Erika shouted, indicating at the spot where the thing the man- 'Exorcist' or whatever -had killed had been.

"Name's Cross Marian." The man- Cross Marian -replied flippantly.

"You know the brat's name?" The man asked, and Erika was taken aback by the sudden change of subject.

"Well… no," She amended, blinking. "He never answered me when I asked him for his name, so I started calling him Allegro. But what's it to you anyway?"

"Allen." He said quietly, almost to himself, and Erika barely caught it.

"Pardon?" Erika asked, just the slightest bit confused.

"Allen. Allen Walker." Cross said louder. "That's the brat's name- not 'Alley' or whatever girly shit you said you were calling him."

"Allegro," Erika growled. "And that still does nothing to answer my question- _what's it to you?_ Why do you care about Allegro- I mean, Allen, so much?" Because Allen was his name, not Allegro, she had to start reminding herself of that. He wasn't her little boy, no matter how much she was attached to him. He was someone else's.

Cross hesitated before speaking.

"He has potential." Was the response that he finally offered.

"Potential for what? Being an _Exorcist_ like yourself?" Now, Erika wasn't normally this rude to people she just met, however, this man- this 'Cross' -was making her, well, very cross. It wasn't helping things either that he was claiming to be someone who fought make-believe monsters for a living [though a part of Erika was nagging at her saying that maybe- just maybe, it wasn't so make-believe].

"Yes," He admitted shamelessly, taking the cigarette butt out of his mouth, feeding it to the golden bird-like thing at his side, who opened a mouth with surprisingly sharp teeth, eating the cigarette butt.

"Allen has potential to be not only a great Exorcist, but something else." Cross continued. "Something very dangerous, if he's not trained properly."

"And why should I believe you?" Erika countered, "How do I know you aren't lying to me?"

"How do you know I'm not?" Cross grumbled, before shaking his head.

"Fuck it. I'm not dealing with this shit." He reached up, adjusting his hat.

Erika thought for a moment he was going to leave, but her thought's changed when she saw that his hand- which he brought down with all fingers but his middle and pointer down -the tips of his fingers started glowing.

"I hate dealing with women like you, so you're just going to go to sleep for a while, alright?"

_**~~Allegro's Crescendo~~**_

Oooh~! Cross wants Allen/Allegro, but Erika doesn't want to let her little boy go! What's going to happen next?

What do you think? Is Cross going to get little Allen/Allegro? Is Erika going to manage to keep him? Will either of them ever see Allen/Allegro's Anti-Akuma weapon? [I already know these answers~! ^_^]

But what are your thoughts?

Next time in **_Allegro's Crescendo: Accented_**

_ The light from the man's fingers had gone, but his arm really,_ really, **really**_ hurt and it didn't look like a normal arm anymore, and it was scary looking, and all he could remember was that glow of green and silver from when his life had ended, and he felt like he couldn't breathe, and, and, and, and-_

Read and Review, and tell me what you think~! ^_^

~~Paw-Chan Signing Out~~


	6. Accented

Hey, it's another update! And not only is it an update of _Allegro's Crescendo, _but if you've been checking your manga sites like I do, there's also an update of _**D,Gray-Man!**_Chapter 210 is out, and I personally think that it's kickin'! But, that's just me. So, yeah.

Your reviews last chapter not only made me happy, but also some made me giggle as well [not that it's a bad thing, it's just... thoughts may have been similar...]

This chapter has Allen/Allegro, Erika, Cross, and a not-so-new new character~! ^_^

**Warnings: Cross's mouth again.**

Let The Sixth Movement begin!

**Disclaimer: My name is not Hoshino Katsura, therefore I don't own. **

_**Allegro's Crescendo**_

_Allen was never found by Cross after attempting to bring Mana back. Neither did the Millennium Earl or the Noah's take him in. No, a third party found young Allen instead, and from that day on, he wasn't 'Allen' anymore. Instead, the Destroyer of Time gained a new name. That name was…_

**The Sixth Movement: Accented**

He wasn't really following what was going on around him- none of it made any sense to him. Then again, things hadn't made sense for a while. Not since… _that._ It still hurt to even think of it. All he wanted to do was curl up in a ball and die, but he hadn't been able to.

This lady, who had taken him in, didn't let him. She always took care of him, no matter what, and for nothing in return. Just like… it hurt to think about it still. He still wasn't even able to think about _him_.

Still, she was really nice to him, protecting him from both the monster from before, and from the man in front of them with the big flying object that looked like a bird. He didn't want to leave the nice lady; sure, he didn't know anything about either the lady or the man, but the man gave off a way scary vibe that frightened him.

He didn't know what happened- or how, even. He saw the man's fingers glowing, and he felt really sleepy, but a part of his head was telling that he needed to stay awake. Stay awake or he'd probably have to go with the scary man. And he didn't want that.

He moved without realizing it- one minute he was next to the lady who had been _really_ nice to him, the next he was in front of her, and he had no clue how he did it. The light from the man's fingers had gone, but his arm really, _really, __**really**_ hurt and it didn't look like a normal arm anymore, and it was scary looking, and all he could remember was that glow of green and silver from when his life had ended, and he felt like he couldn't breathe, and, and, and, and-

_~~Accented, Accented~~_

Allegro- _no, it was Allen, not Allegro, he wasn't hers, she had to remember that_ -had been at her side one moment, right when Cross's fingers started glowing and she started feeling tired, but then, the next instant, he was in front of her. Cross's fingers had stopped glowing, and she stopped feeling tired. But that wasn't what she noticed right off.

It was Allegr- _Allen's_ arm. His left arm, to be more specific.

She had seen it before, needing to change his clothes and give him baths, of course, during the past week and a half. That being said, Erika knew already that almost all the way up to the shoulder, Allegro's arm was a blood red color that appeared to have scales on it. Blackened nails, and a cross in the middle of the back of his hand with something that glowed green down in the center of the cross. At first, Erika had thought the shining green was a piece of glass that had gotten into an open wound, but the theory was quickly aborted after Allegr- _Allen_ started howling in pain when she tried to remove it.

But this arm of his now, it wasn't the red skin with blackened nails that she knew.

It was a disproportionate arm- almost bigger than Allegro himself -and it was a shining silver, and looked more like a machine or a weapon than an actual human arm. The fingers weren't even fingers- they were lethal sharp claws that one would expect to find on an animal of some sort. It was a monstrosity, something you saw on a _monster_, not an innocent _little boy_.

The _little boy_ she had been taking care of for the past week and a half was a _**monster**_.

Erika looked down at Allen's face, saw the fear on his face, and reeled back like she had just been slapped. Ashamed for what she had just been thinking. Here she was condemning a child for something that wasn't his fault, like she was the higher authority who doled out punishment, whether innocent or guilty.

"Still want to keep the brat now?" Cross called out across the room, seeing the look on her face, and most likely interpreting it as repulsion at Allegro, and not at herself.

"Why wouldn't I?" Erika rested trembling, tentative, hands on Allegro's shoulders. "He's a little boy. Not a monster. _Not a killer_. I've taken care of him this long- why not longer? He's done nothing wrong."

"He led that Akuma to your house." Cross challenged back. "You keep him, there will be more. Untrained as he is, you'll be dead within a week. Both of you."

"Says who?" Erika snapped back. "How do you know we'd be dead?" The gun was back to being pointed at Cross.

The sound of the gun cocking in the silent room was louder than if the actual gun would have gone off.

"I'm a bit more durable than most would expect."

_~~Accented~~_

Komui Lee sighed, sitting at his _[new]_ desk, staring at all the paper work he was expected to fill out with his _[new]_ job. He hadn't been at it for long, and, to be honest, he was only doing this job because of family. The _only_ family he had left, really. His baby sister.

She was eleven years old, but she had been taken away from him when she was six. They had been reunited with each other almost a year ago, when he had taken on his new job that still felt like a new job, even after all these months.

He was a supervisor. Not just any supervisor though. He was the supervisor, and science department head, of an organization called '_The Black Order_'. Well, the supervisor of the European Branch, at least.

Being a part of the Order for almost a year had gotten him fairly acquainted with some of the accommodators that lived there. There was his darling sister, Lenalee, and a young anti-social boy, Kanda, who refused to talk to anybody the majority of the time. Daisya Barry, who was around Lenalee's and Kanda's age, and Marie Noise, who was a few years older than Daisya. Suman Dark, and a few others who he hadn't met yet. Then, there were the five Generals. Froi Tiedoll, who was Daisya, Marie, and Kanda's master, and Winters Sokalo. There was Klaud Nyne, Kevin Yeager, and then his current headache.

General Cross Marian.

Now Generals all had the task of finding accommodators while they were out on assigned missions. However, General Cross Marian had been given a specific mission barely a month ago, and, while the General seemed to love dropping off the radar for months at a time, taking ages to complete the mission, they had received word from the General.

Well, not from the General, technically. A Finder, who had at some point, stumbled upon Cross, or vice versa.

"Please put him on the phone," Komui sighed tiredly, tapping his pen on the top of the desk. "I'd appreciate hearing the story from him."

There was a pause, some shuffling, and then the General's gruff voice was filling the receiver.

"You're in the hospital." Komui's tone was light, as if being in the hospital wasn't a serious thing, and that it happened all the time.

Which, unfortunately, happened almost all the time for accommodators.

"Mind telling me what exactly happened?" Komui's voice was open, posing the demand as a question, and Cross growled to himself, staring at the phone that had been handed to him by the Finder. He had to tell the idiot supervisor something.

"Got shot." It was an offhanded comment, and he made it sound as if it didn't matter as Cross decided he'd tell the idiot supervisor an abridged sort of tale of what actually transpired.

"I'm assuming it wasn't by an Akuma, seeing as you aren't dead." Komui's voice was dry as it filtered over the phone. "Why?"

"Why what?" Cross parroted back. Maybe if he got the supervisor irritated enough, he'd hang up on Cross. "Why wasn't I shot by an Akuma? Why aren't I dead? Why-" Komui cut through Cross's sarcasm.

"Why were you shot?"

"I found an accommodator." Cross responded, and there was a second before Komui responded.

"You were shot by an accommodator?" Confusion. He could just leave it at that, and hang up on the supervisor himself, but that meant the idiot would send someone out this way to check, and Cross wanted to try and find those two himself.

"No." He answered instead, and added quietly after that, "Doubt the brat would be that good of a shot, anyways…" A pause, which meant the supervisor probably heard his mumble, and was trying to come up with something to say. He could probably hang up now, if he did it quickly…

"How old?" Komui's voice came right before Cross could make good on hanging up the phone. "How old is the accommodator?"

Ah, he forgot. The supervisor had a little sister who was an Exorcist as well. What was she, ten? Nine? Either way, she had been six, when she had been brought to the Order, and Cross remembered how they had treated her under the last supervisor, alongside Leverrier.

"Ten," Cross answered surely. "Maybe nine." Cause the little bastard was small, and he had never bothered to learn his real age. "I got shot by the woman who was taking care of him."

"Ah," Komui's voice was filled with mirth, and Cross could practically see him, leaning back in his chair, a smug little smirk on his face, like he knew one day that Cross was going to get shot by a woman or an irate lover for hitting on them. "Do you know where the accommodator is now?"

"No, she fucking shot me and took off with the kid, leaving me to bleed out on the floor." Cross swore. "I'll be surprised if she's still even in the country, the way she took off with the kid."

"What about Timcampy?" Komui asked. Cross looked down at the golem that was sitting faithfully on his knee, wings in and tail curled around the stubs that were his feet.

"Fucking shot him too. They were gone before Tim could reform." Cross grumbled, reaching for a pack of cigarettes, and cursing again when he realized that he didn't have a pack on him because the nurses took them away from him.

"How long are you expected to be in the hospital?" Komui asked next, changing the subject.

"I want to be out now," Was Cross's immediate response, "But the fucking bastards of doctors here say I'm not allowed out of here for two months."

"I see," Komui's voice was distracted, and Cross could hear the shuffling of papers filter through the phone line.

"When you're back on your feet General," Komui said after a pause. "You are to continue on your assigned mission. Leave the accommodator be for now, and don't go chasing after him. The mission is more important than the accommodator right now."

Cross resisted the urge to swear, wondering what the hell to do. Never in his entire life as an Exorcist had he heard that a mission was more important than finding an accommodator, especially when Innocence wasn't involved in the mission. This mission of his was _that_ important, apparently.

"Do you understand, General?" Komui's voice entered through his thoughts.

"Yeah, yeah," Cross grumbled. "Whatever."

"Alright," Komui's voice wasn't surprised, but it was close to it. "Good-"

And Cross hung up on him, because the conversation was over anyways, and it made him feel slightly better knowing that he had at least hung up on the supervisor.

_~~**Allegro's Crescendo**~~_

__And Komui makes his entrance~! ^_^ And Cross got shot, but, then again, most of us were expecting that, weren't we? I'll let you speculate on where exactly he was shot.

I'm sorry if I screwed up ages and that for when Lenalee/Kanda and them arrived at the Order, but I don't recall exact ages being said of when they arrived, so I fished for ages that sounded about right. If I'm wrong, I'd appreciate being told so I can fix it. ^_^

Next time on **_Allegro's Crescendo: The 3/2 Time Signature:_**

_Big brother hadn't seemed too happy with the General, but she knew that her big brother wasn't ever really happy unless he was around her. Not that shee minded or anything, but she really wished that he could be happier more, because she knew that with as dangerous a job as the one she had, she wouldn't be around forever, and she wanted her big brother to be happy, even when she was gone._

Read and Review and tell me what you think~!

~~Paw-Chan Signing Out~~


	7. The 3l2 Time Signature

Back again with Chapter 7~! I'm surprised at how many people were surprised that Cross got shot... But I am in agreement with the confusion on just how Cross made it through canon without getting shot by a woman...

I was asked a real good question by an anonymous reviewer- Which Kanda will I be using? Canon or the one everyone thought him to be prior to the Second Exorcist Arc?

Answer: A mix. There's [most likely] going to be references towards the incident at the Asian Branch, but as for the fact that I honestly though his was with the European Branch at this point... Well, there's going to be a mix of him.

Anyways, let the Seventh Movement commence!

**Disclaimer: Still don't own D,Gray-Man... Sorry.**

_**Allegro's Crescendo**_

_Allen was never found by Cross after attempting to bring Mana back. Neither did the Millennium Earl or the Noah's take him in. No, a third party found young Allen instead, and from that day on, he wasn't 'Allen' anymore. Instead, the Destroyer of Time gained a new name. That name was…_

**The Seventh Movement: The 3/2 Time Signature**

"Miss Nyne?" Lenalee's voice cropped up timidly, done watching the passing scenery from the window of the train, looking at the older woman who was accompanying them on their mission. And by 'them', Lenalee meant her and Kanda Yu, who really, really, really preferred to be called Kanda and got really, really, really, really, really, really mean if anybody called him _Yu_.

"What is it, Lenalee?" She asked, looking up from the book on her lap, Lau Jimin, her cute little monkey that was also her Innocence, looking at her as well. It made Lenalee feel really small. "And I've told you before, just call me Klaud."

"Umm, I was just wondering, what is the General like?" Because she was really curious. Big brother hadn't seemed too happy with the General, but Lenalee knew that her big brother wasn't ever really happy unless he was around her. Not that Lenalee minded or anything, but she really wished that he could be happier more, because she knew that with as dangerous a job as the one she had, she wouldn't be around forever, and she wanted her big brother to be happy, even when she was gone. Because she loved her big brother, and she wanted him to be happy more than anything in the whole wide world.

"He's mean," Klaud responded after a few moments pause. "But, even if he won't admit it, he has a soft spot for kids. Especially for young Exorcists, like yourselves."

"Why?" Lenalee wanted to know, and, stealing a look over at Kanda, she knew he wanted to know as well, even if he was pretending to not be interested in the conversation.

"He was part of the Order ever since he was little," Klaud answered easily, gently shutting her book. "He grew up seeing how Exorcists were treated, especially the young ones- ones who were even younger than you two."

"Then why's he an Exorcist?" Lenalee couldn't help but ask. She knew those who the Innocence chose had no choice but to become an Exorcist, but couldn't he have run away?

"Why are _we_ Exorcists?" Klaud answered her question with a question of her own. Lenalee frowned, thinking on it. Klaud spoke at the same time as the train whistled, signaling their arrival to the station.

Lenalee watched as her lips moved, not quite catching what the older Exorcist said, but able to guess what it was.

_~~Because it is God's Will~~_

"From what I heard from the doctors, you aren't supposed to be outside, let alone out of bed." Cross dropped the cigarette butt coolly, outwardly pretending he wasn't bothered or surprised by the voice, but inwardly cursing his luck. If Lady Luck was still on his side though, it could be that Klaud Nyne was just passing by to make fun of the fact that he had let something as simple as a human take him down, on her way to her next mission, or on her way back to the Order from a mission.

"And?" Cross rebutted, grinding the butt into the grass as he responded. Normally Timcampy would eat them, but he had sent the golem out earlier that day to try and track Allen and Erika, and he hadn't seen the golem since.

"Is that the General?" A different voice asked, drawing Cross' attention over towards Klaud. There was Klaud herself, and then two kids with her. He vaguely recognized them- he had seen them at the Order when he had been there to receive his current mission. The sour looking one was one of Tiedoll's apprentices, and the other one who had spoken was the supervisor's little sister.

"Yes, Lenalee," Klaud responded with a patience that Cross never knew she had. "That's the General." Tiedoll's kid muttered something that Cross didn't quite catch, but apparently Lenalee did, because Cross saw her face grow red and smack the other kid, and Klaud stepped in quickly before a fight or tears could start.

"We're here about the accommodator you found." Klaud stepped in, a hand resting on the kids' shoulders.

"_And lost,"_ Tiedoll's brat muttered darkly, followed by a small gasp of, "_Kanda!_" from the lovely little Lenalee.

"What about him?" Cross responded gruffly.

"I think you already know," Klaud answered back, before stepping aside to let Cross lead the way back inside.

Apparently, Karma didn't like Cross as much as he had thought.

_~~(Cross hasn't been having good luck with girls lately)~~_

"I see," Klaud said after long last, after Cross had finished describing the little boy who was the accommodator. "A parasitic type then…"

"Yeah." A moment of silence. "But you wouldn't be able to get close to the kid, not with that crazy caretaker of his." Klaud looked on in response.

"Why do you think I have Kanda and Lenalee along with me?" Klaud asked. "It's not just so I can lose my sanity."

"You mean you plan to…"

Klaud's smile was rueful, and a bit scornful.

"Children always were more trustworthy, weren't they?"

_~~The 3/2 Time Signature~~_

Walking around a town like this, _alone_, made Lenalee feel a little uneasy. Well, she wasn't totally alone, as there were Finders following her, but still. She wasn't allowed to wear her Exorcist uniform, because according to the General Cross, the lady who was taking care of the little accommodator boy they were looking for had seen and would be able to recognize it. So, Lenalee [and Kanda as well] had been made to put on regular kids clothes as they wandered the town. Alone.

Truth be told, Lenalee had very little faith that the little accommodator boy that they were looking for was even still in the area. She knew that if her brother had gotten her away from the Central people who had come for her, they would have been out of China in a heartbeat. Why would the little accommodator boy and his caretaker stay in town? Unless they thought no one else was going to come after them…

"I told you to stay near me, Damnit…" A voice above her said, and Lenalee found herself looking up from her thoughts a little too late as she ran into someone.

It was a woman who looked to be as old as Miss Klaud, with brown hair and green eyes. She wore a long shirt and jacket, and long pants which was really odd because the majority of women outside of the Order wore skirts, and this woman didn't look to be a part of the Order, because Lenalee had never met an Exorcist or Scientist who looked like her before, and the Finders generally never last long anyways, and…

"Are you okay?"

Lenalee jumped as the voice snapped her out of her thoughts again, and nearly shrieked when she saw that the woman was kneeling on the ground in front of her, really close to her.

"Y-Yes Ma'am," Lenalee couldn't help but stutter. The woman really scared her, and looked a little like the crazy caretaker that the General Cross said had shot him over the little accommodator boy.

"Where are your parents?" She asked, placing a tentative hand on Lenalee's shoulder. Lenalee blinked, shocked for a moment, because she really didn't want to tell a complete and utter stranger that her parents were _dead_, and that her brother was trying to raise her, the best he could, while she was off being treated as a soldier in a secret war, when she remembered. She was on a mission.

A mission that required her to tell any adults that asked that she was lost and she was looking for her parents.

"I don't know," Her mouth finally moved, working. "I'm lost. We got separated in the crowds, and I haven't been able to find them." Lenalee quivered her lip for effect, and looked up at the woman, who gave a slightly exasperated smile.

"Well it's luck that I happen to be a police officer then." The other woman smiled at long last. "And that I happen to be looking for someone as well. Why don't we look for them together?" Lenalee didn't really want to, but she didn't have much choice at the moment.

"Okay," She answered, and they both were standing up, the older woman holding Lenalee's hand like a mother would, making sure that their child wouldn't get lost in a crowd. It made Lenalee wonder who this woman policeman was, and if she had any kids of her own. It also made Lenalee think of when she was little, when her mom would hold her hand whenever they went out.

"Do you have a name?" The older woman asked as they started down the street at a sedate pace, no sense of urgency in their stride, yet no sense of waiting in it either.

"Oh," Lenalee paused, before saying, "Yes ma'am. My name is Lenalee Lee." The woman laughed, and Lenalee puffed out her cheeks like some sort of fish whose name she didn't remember- she just remembered Reever from the Science Division comparing her to one before and… The woman was talking again.

"…that must be a mouthful," She was saying. "Do you have a nickname, Miss Lenalee Lee?" Lenalee shook her head.

"No ma'am," Lenalee said, not missing the way the other woman frowned. "Most people just call me Lenalee."

"Do you mind if I call you Lena, Miss Lenalee Lee?" The older woman asked, and Lenalee shook her head. Big Brother sometimes called her that, even though it wasn't a formal nickname for her. "And don't call me ma'am Lena, I have a name just like you."

"What is it?" Lenalee asked as they made a corner, Lenalee catching sight of the fluttering coat of a Finder for a split second.

As the older woman introduced herself, Lenalee found herself tripping over the bricks of the street they were on, only managing to stay upright because of the hand entrapping hers.

"My name's Erika Knox." Was the older woman's easy-going reply, not fazed by Lenalee's trip, and not noticing as Lenalee's face as it drained of color.

This was Erika Knox…

"But you can just call me Erika, okay Lena?"

The crazy caretaker that had shot the General Cross…

"O-Okay Mis- err, Erika."

And had the little accommodator boy.

"Alright-y then. Now Lena, do you remember what street you lost your parents on?"

She was in a _lot_ of trouble.

_**~~Allegro's Crescendo~~**_

Wow... is it just me, or did that feel a little anti-climatic? /shot/

So we have a Lenalee with Erika, but a missing Allegro, Klaud and Kanda... Hmm...

You guys are probably wondering why Erika and Allegro have still stuck around, despite the fact that Cross was still around, huh? Well, the reason will be clear soon, but, in the meantime, sit down, and enjoy your pondering. ^_^

I apologize if any characters are OOC, especially Lenalee, seeing as she was the main focus of this chapter... for some reason...

Anyways,

**_Next Time in Allegro's Crescendo: Marcato_**

_"Hey, wait for me, Miss Priss!" That annoying voice called out after him. And that name… 'Miss Priss'… It made his eye twitch. And it made him want to slice that little boy up._

_"No." Kanda called back childishly. "I don't have to." And to further rile the little boy, he started walking faster, because he could, and because he had longer legs than the Moyashi so he could cover more ground than him and possibly lose him._

Yup. There's Kanda.

Read and Review, por favor~!

~~Paw-Chan Signing Out~~


	8. Marcato

Merry early Christmas/Kwanzaa, Happy Hanukkah! It's Sunday the 18th, which can only mean one thing: Allegro's Crescendo update! ^_^ And, here it is, for your viewing/reading pleasure~!

I apologize ahead of time if Kanda seems Out of Character, as well as for the excessive swearing in this chapter [it's Kanda, what do you expect?]

Now, let _The Eighth Movement_ commence!

**Disclaimer: Nope. Still don't own D,Gray-Man... Maybe for Christmas...?**

_**Allegro's Crescendo**_

_Allen was never found by Cross after attempting to bring Mana back. Neither did the Millennium Earl or the Noah's take him in. No, a third party found young Allen instead, and from that day on, he wasn't 'Allen' anymore. Instead, the Destroyer of Time gained a new name. That name was…_

**The Eighth Movement: Marcato**

"Stupid Finders…" Kanda muttered under his breath, kicking a rock in the street that was lying in front of him out of fury. His right hand was shoved in his pocket while his left was curled around the long box that was currently hiding Mugen- his sword.

He wasn't allowed to have it out because he was supposed to be acting like some 'innocent' kid or something idiotic like that. And apparently little 'innocent' kids didn't carry around swords, ready to be attacked at any moment. But, he couldn't just leave Mugen behind because of the threat of Akuma, so the concession had been made that he carry it around in the box it currently was in.

If he was asked, he was supposed to say that he was supposed to be making a delivery to some lame-ass place that he hadn't been bothered to remember, and that that was what the box was for.

"Find…er?" A voice from behind him parroted. "What's a Finder? And why're you calling them stupid?" Kanda twitched, and turned around, his hand coming out of his pocket and resting on the box that concealed Mugen.

It was a little boy. Even smaller than Lenalee, small enough to be a Moyashi. With almost completely white hair and storm grey eyes, wearing a green shirt, black gloves, and pants that were rolled up so they weren't on the ground, revealing black shoes.

"Why do you want to know?" Kanda spat back, hesitating a minute before tacking on, "Moyashi." As some sort of insult.

"Just asking," The boy responded childishly. "Did they make you mad for some reason?"

"Maybe." Kanda growled. "But like I said _before_, what's it to you? Or are you just slow, Moyashi?"

"Hey, _I _already said that I was just wondering." The boy retorted. "And what's a moyashi?"

"You're a Moyashi." Kanda answered gruffly, turning away from the boy, leaving. "Now leave me alone." And he started walking.

…Only to hear footsteps chasing after him.

"Hey, wait for me, Miss Priss!" That annoying voice called out after him. And that name… 'Miss Priss'… It made his eye twitch. And it made him want to slice that little boy up.

"No." Kanda called back childishly. "I don't have to." And to further rile the little boy, he started walking faster, because he could, and because he had longer legs than the Moyashi so he could cover more ground than him and possibly lose him.

"Jerk!" The Moyashi called after him. "Asshole!" They were at name calling now? Kanda ignored it, going on down the street. He had to find that stupid little accommodator kid that that stupid General lost.

"Hey!" The boy shouted again. "I. Said. Wait. Up!" And the next thing Kanda knew, the box with Mugen was flying from his grip, and his face was receiving a dangerously close introduction to the cobblestone street as the little boy tackled him.

"What the hell was that for Moyashi?" Kanda snarled into the street, seeing as he didn't have much mobility at the time.

"You didn't wait for me, jerk!" The little boy responded huffily. "When people tell you to wait, you're supposed to wait!"

"Yeah, yeah," Kanda grumbled. "Will you get off of me now?" Kanda could feel the boy shifting on top of him, and it wasn't all that a pleasant of feeling.

The boy hesitated before he spoke.

"Are you going to run away the minute I get off of you?"

"No." Yes.

"Alright then…" There was an increase of pain on Kanda's lower back, before he heard the sound of the Moyashi's feet hitting the bricks, followed shortly by the boy getting off of him. Kanda was off like a shot, grabbing Mugen, almost into the crowd and away from the Moyashi when…

A foot snaked out, tripping him, sending him back down onto the cobblestones once more. The kids' black shoes were right in front of his face, and Kanda craned his head up to see the younger boy looking _down_ at him.

"I thought you said you weren't going to run off?" The boy asked curiously, still looking down at Kanda, not even bothering to offer to help Kanda up- not like he would have taken it, anyways.

"What's it matter to you, Moyashi?" Kanda picked himself off the street a second time, but didn't bolt this time. He figured it wasn't worth it- the Moyashi would follow him nonetheless.

"Why're you carrying that box around?" The Moyashi sidestepped his question, asking one of his own.

"Again, what's it matter to you?" Kanda shot back, starting a brisk walk down the street once more, never looking back to see if the Moyashi was following him or not.

"Just curious," Was his reply, and Kanda scoffed.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you curiosity killed the cat?" Not that Kanda's mom did. As far as he knew, he didn't have one. Which was perfectly fine with him.

"No." The Moyashi's response was lighthearted. "I never knew my parents. They either died, or just abandoned me. Don't know which, and I never really bothered thinking of it."

…Ouch. Kanda hadn't seen that one coming.

"But it's okay," he continued, not waiting for Kanda to respond. "It doesn't matter. 'Sides, isn't the other half of that saying of yours something about satisfaction bringing it back or something like that? At least, that's what Miss Erika says…"

"Who?" The question was out of Kanda's mouth before he think about it, and his feet stopped on his own. That name was familiar somehow…

"Miss Erika." The Moyashi repeated, stopping next to him. "She's my…" He hesitated for a moment, as if he were unsure what he was supposed to call her. "Well, I don't really know what she is. She takes care of me, even though we aren't related."

"Caretaker?" Kanda stared at the Moyashi in front of him a bit numbly as he finally placed the name.

Erika. As in _Erika Knox._ The _Erika Knox_ that was supposedly such a crazed lunatic she shot the General just to keep her paws on the accommodator- the accommodator who must be the Moyashi in front of him.

Though the Moyashi didn't look much like how the accommodator boy had been described. Sure, he had the same eye color, but that was it. He didn't have the scar that the General had described him having, and his hair was all white, not whatever-color the General had said it was streaked with white.

"Sure…?" The Moyashi's response came off as more a question than a solid statement.

"_Che._ Stupid Moyashi." Kanda resumed walking.

"What's Moyashi mean?" The Moyashi asked, trotting after Kanda like a lost puppy.

Kanda ignored him.

The Moyashi still followed.

_~~Marcato~~_

"Why the hell are you still following me?" Kanda had snapped after a while. The Moyashi had been following him for what seemed to be the past hour now, and had been chatting non-stop, holding a mostly [largely] one sided conversation.

"Because you're interesting!" The Moyashi retorted cheekily, grinning. There was a moment of silence, Kanda debating whether it would be worth it to punch the kid when he tacked on,

"'Sides, I heard you telling some lady that that box you're carrying," He indicated towards the box that housed Mugen, "Was to go to someplace on Rosario Lane, and we've passed that street six times already."

"And?" Kanda snapped back. "What of it? Maybe I don't want to go there."

He was horrified that he sounded so childish. It was unlike Kanda to sound that childish, even if he did [though he would never admit aloud to anybody but himself] act a _little_ childish around Lenalee. But for good reason! S-She was a girl, and she would always pout and go teary eyed and it made Kanda feel like crap when she did that, and it would remind him of _him_ and then he'd have to act childish, just to make her stop crying and to _forget_.

"Then why don't you just go home?" The Moyashi asked in response.

"What makes you think I have a home to go back to?" Kanda snapped in return. He didn't care if this boy was a glimmer of a possibility of being that accommodator that the General had lost, he was fucking annoying.

"Well, don't you have a family to go back to, at least?" The Moyashi's voice was small.

_The Order…_

_Asian Branch…_

_A Faceless, nameless woman…_

_**Him…**_

"No." Kanda's voice was short, answer clipped.

The Moyashi stopped, looking at him hesitantly, a pained sort of look crossing over his face.

"No?" He echoed, voice small. "You don't have anyone?"

"That's generally what 'no' means, _baka_."

"B-But," The Moyashi was at an utter lack for words. "You _can't_ just _not_ have _any_body!"

"Well, I don't." Kanda was ready to let the matter drop.

"Y-You can come with me!" The Moyashi, though, apparently wasn't.

"What?" His words were ground out, harsh.

"Come with me!" The Moyashi grabbed his hand holding it tightly, looking up at him with those pouting eyes that Lenalee always used when she wanted to get Kanda to do something for her. "Miss Erika won't mind, _promise_! She cares a lot, she really does! She likes kids, I know it! Otherwise-" He didn't get any further, because Kanda had gotten fed up, and had decided, damned it all to hell, he was going to slice this kid up no matter the repercussions.

"What the hell?" The Moyashi shrieked like a girl, and it brought a [_sadistic_] smile to his face.

"I don't know what sort of twisted world you live in," Kanda growled, not moving Mugen from its spot, barely an inch away from the Moyashi's forehead, "But the real world where I live isn't so nicely decorated."

"I'll say," The Moyashi's voice cracked a little, rising a little in fear. "What kind of freak gives a ten year old a fucking _sword_?"

"I'm twelve!" Kanda snarled, Mugen moving forward a bit, the Moyashi backing up in response.

"My point!" The Moyashi squeaked. "Who trusts you with that thing? 'Cause I certainly don't!"

"The Order." The words ripped out of his mouth before Kanda could register what he had been asked or what he had answered.

Either way, it was obviously not the right answer.

"T-The _Order_?" The Moyashi asked, taking two steps back. "I thought Miss Erika was kidding! You're with the kid-snatcher organization?"

Fuck. This _was_ the accommodator that the General had lost. Just brilliant. And, apparently, The Order hadn't been played to a stellar light in this kid's eyes.

But, unfortunately, he was right- The Order took accommodators where they could find them, despite their age.

"I-I'll just go." The Moyashi was in a big hurry to go, but Kanda wasn't going to let him go- he wasn't able, because the Moyashi was his current mission, and as much as Kanda hated The Order, he never failed a mission.

"No, I don't think so." Kanda grabbed the Moyashi's arm as he turned to leave. "You're coming with me."

"W-What?" The Moyashi choked out as Kanda started to drag him away. "Where?"

"The Order." Kanda replied, not stopping.

"Like _Hell_!" The Moyashi spat, digging his heels into the cobblestone. "I'm not going anywhere unless I'm with Miss Erika, _asshole_!"

Kanda turned, ready to give the Moyashi a piece of his mind when…

Pain filled the side of his head, vision going black.

_**~~Allegro's Crescendo~~**_

Reminder: I did mention that this Kanda would be a mix of canon and who we thought he was before canon. Just so it clears up some confusion.

There's no preview this week for next chapter. As I mentioned a few chapters ago because of the late update, I auditioned for District Band in my area. I made it, and because of the concert and Region Auditions coming up in January, I need most of my vacation/free time for practicing. I will try and write when I have a chance, but I'm going to give you the heads up that I may not update at all between now and January 8/15. Sorry about that.

Read, review, ask questions if you want, and tell me what you think~! ^_^

~~Paw-Chan signing Out~~


	9. The Bb to Csharp and Eb to Fsharp Trill

Oh my goodness! What is this? Can it be? It can't! An update? Way later than it's supposed to be? You're kidding me! This must be some sort of joke!

...

Um, yeah... It's not. ~.~

I'm really sorry about the wait for an update. I know I said January 8/15, and it's the 29th... but, hey! It's an update!

Now... Let's get on to the ninth movement everybody was waiting for~! ^_^

**Disclaimer: Yeah... Christmas was a bit of a disappointment... No rights to D,Gray-Man... I guess that means I still don't own it...**

_**Allegro's Crescendo**_

_Allen was never found by Cross after attempting to bring Mana back. Neither did the Millennium Earl or the Noah's take him in. No, a third party found young Allen instead, and from that day on, he wasn't 'Allen' anymore. Instead, the Destroyer of Time gained a new name. That name was…_

**The Ninth Movement: The Bb-C# and Eb-F# Trill**

So far, Lenalee had been leading Erika on a wild goose chase around the town- not that the older woman would know. Down different streets, pretending to search for parents she didn't even have, and searching for the little boy who Erika had lost, and searching for Miss Klaud or a Finder, or anyone to get her away from the crazy caretaker. What if Erika took her away? Away from The Order? Lenalee didn't want to lose her brother again!

"Why don't we sit down for a bit, Lena?" Erika suggested, snapping the young Exorcist out of her thoughts.

"O-Okay," Lenalee answered a bit nervously, following the older woman as she led them over to a bench that resided on the outskirts of the park they were currently by. The two sat down, and Lenalee bowed her hand, fidgeting with her hands as she stared down into her lap.

"Is everything alright?" Erika's words were soft, but they came out of nowhere, making Lenalee jump in surprise. Erika, who had had a hand hovering over the girl's shoulder, drew back, remaining a slight distance away, as if to make her feel more comfortable.

"You seem nervous," Erika continued, looking at Lenalee with soft eyes. "At the least bit, you seem very uncomfortable around me. Is there something wrong?" Lenalee shook her head, lying.

"No, nothing's wrong!" She forced a smile. "Everything's fine, Miss Erika!"

"If you say so," Erika gave a laugh that made it seem she didn't believe Lenalee. It was quiet again, and Lenalee thought the conversation had been dropped.

"You know," Erika spoke again, but when Lenalee looked over at the adult, she wasn't looking at Lenalee but rather the sky. "When I was younger, I used to be afraid of the police too." Lenalee blanched; the crazy caretaker of the little accommodator boy thought she was afraid of her because she was a policeman?

Well, it was better than the truth so…

Lenalee went with it.

"Really?" Lenalee asked, curiosity in her voice admittedly only _half _fake.

"Really." Erika laughed. "You see, when I was your age- and older, too, actually -I used to be quite the hellion…"

_~~A wavering tone, fingers moving rapidly back and forth from one note to the next and back again~~_

If Allegro had had any sense of propriety at all, he would've felt instantly ashamed of himself after he had punched the bigger kid he had been following for a good portion of the afternoon after he had gotten separated from Miss Erika. As it was, he hadn't reclaimed any of his propriety after… _that_ …and, to be honest, there was a part of him that really didn't like the other boy. So he punched him; though, in his defense, the bigger kid had started it by pointing that sword at him.

A sword. Seriously. Who gave a ten- sorry, _twelve_ -year old boy a sword? And let him carry it around and use it in _public?_

Then again, the boy was part of some kid-snatcher organization… And he wanted Allegro to go with him! Like hell that was going to happen; he was going to stay with Miss Erika. She was just as nice as… _him_ and Allegro wasn't going to leave if it was the last thing he did!

So, when the kid had started to drag him away, he let his instincts- that he hadn't used since he had been with _that_ circus and younger -take over, and he had dug his feet into the ground and gave the older boy as good of a right hook as he had been able to manage.

Which, looking at his work currently, he had to say that he had a pretty damn good right hook in his opinion. A rare, half-smile, half-smirk crossed his features as he let out a short laugh as he surveyed the other boy…

His sword had gone skittering across the cobblestone, and it was currently resting against the side of a light pole. Spots were swimming through his eyes; one hand pressed to his cheek while the other ground up against the road. He was sprawled on the ground, and Kanda jerked his head up, spots fading away just enough, to look at the little boy who had so brazenly punched _him_, who was smirking as if he were the cat that got the canary.

It made his blood boil.

"Think you're so tough, don't you bean sprout?" Kanda snarled at the little boy, unsure if he was speaking English or not, but to hell that he was caring. "Just because you can throw a punch doesn't mean you can take one!"

"What the _hell_ are you saying?" The Moyashi's voice was a mix between awe and annoyance, but Kanda didn't really care, and he didn't bother answering, as he lunged forward, fist pulled back ready to land a matching punch on his little face.

The cheeky brat ducked, spinning out of the way with a laugh.

"That the best you can do?" He laughed tauntingly, snow locks shrouding his eyes. It made the Moyashi seem darker, somehow, and only served to piss the Exorcist off even more.

He tackled the boy, sending them both flying to the ground. They somersaulted for a few feet, before Kanda finally had the kid pinned on the ground underneath him, hands grasping the brat's wrists so he wouldn't try anything.

"Give up yet, brat?" Kanda taunted back. "You can't get away now." The boy scowled.

"My name is _Allegro_," He said, attempting only once to throw the older boy off of him. "And like hell if I'm gonna let you win this easy."

_~~ The Bb-C# and Eb-F# Trill ~~_

"I think that's enough story telling for now," Erika stood up, stretching. "Let's get going Lena. Your parents are probably worried sick by now."

She glanced down at the younger girl. Lenalee [or, as Erika had taken to calling her, 'Lena'] had seemed nervous of her earlier, but now she seemed… well, Erika wasn't going to say relaxed, but she was a lot more calm than she had been earlier.

"Alright, Miss Erika." The little girl seemed so solemn, and it didn't feel right to Erika. The only other child she had seen more solemn than Lenalee was Allegro- although he was doing better now.

Before the two could go anywhere two little kids came running up to Erika, tugging on her pants. She didn't miss Lena's incredulous look at the action, but because of the girl's ethnic look, Erika doesn't question it; most likely cultural differences. The kids were Lucy and Sal Tal, nine and six respectively.

"Miss Erika!" They whined urgently, tugging at her pants. "Ya gotta come quick! There's a brawl down the street!" As if Lucy and Sal were one, the grabbed Erika's hands at the same time, and tried pulling the cop down the street.

"It's yer cem'tary stray," Sal looked up at Erika with wide eyes.

"Yeah," Lucy agreed eagerly, "And some oriental kid that looks like a girl!" As Erika face-palmed at how rude the little kid had been, she missed the aghast look on that overcame Lenalee's face.

"Fine, fine," Erika managed. "Hold your horses, Mister and Miss Tal." She looked over at Lenalee, an apologetic look on her face.

"I'm sorry Lena, but…" She motioned towards the kids. "Duty calls. I know we need to find your parents, but this shouldn't take naught more than a minute or two." But Lenalee hadn't been listening; she was just staring off towards the direction the two little kids had indicated in.

Oriental that looked like a girl… That _had_ to be Kanda. That meant he had to have found the little accommodator boy. But, if he had, how come he hadn't gotten a hold of Miss Nyne or the General yet? Or any of the Finders?

Then again, it _was _Kanda… If she was lucky, he wouldn't be trying to kill the kid.

_If_ being the key word.

_~~ The Bb-C# and Eb-F# Trill ~~_

He landed another punch, and felt some sort of perverse satisfaction as he watched the brat's nose start to gush blood. Never mind the fact that his nose had been broken already; it had healed already, and you couldn't tell that it had ever been broken in the first place. [Well, it was sort of crooked, but it was hardly noticeable unless you were looking for it.]

"Bamn it!" The Moyashi- like hell he was going to call the kid by his real name -cursed, rolling out of the way, one hand clutching his nose, pinching it at the top, letting blood flood down his face to drip onto his clothes.]

Allegro lashed out at the older boy once more, ditching the rescuing of his nose in favor of [_successfully!_] tackling the boy to the ground. He sat, perched, on the older boy's chest, his fists full, clenched together on part of the kid's shirt.

"You _bleeding wanker_!" Was what the Moyashi yelled at Kanda, dripping blood all over his shirt from the geyser that was Allegro's bloody nose.

"Actually," Kanda retorted dryly, a deadpan look on his face, "I think you're the one bleeding here." Whatever a 'bleeding wanker' was- not that Kanda cared.

"Damn it!" And the brat's- Allegro -his voice sounds a lot clearer than a few moments earlier, even though it was still dripping blood. "Why won't you just leave me alone?"

Leave him alone? That was funny, seeing as it was the Moyashi who had been the one who had started following _him_ first, and wouldn't leave _him_ alone.

Hands crept towards his neck, and looking up at the brat, Kanda thought he saw a glazed look over the storm grey eyes.

The Moyashi's mouth moved, but before Kanda could fully process what the kid had actually said, a new voice sliced through them.

"Alright, break it up kids," It was a woman, with a voice that was almost on par with the commanding tone General Klaud gave at times.

"And _you_," The ire was directed to the Moyashi, who she lifted off of Kanda by the collar of his shirt, not unlike how a kitten or lion cub would be lifted off the ground by a parent. "What did I tell you about running off?"

"N-Not to," Like a flick of a switch, there was clarity back in the stormy eyes, along with a hint of shame and fear.

"And what did you do?"

"R-Run off after you told me not to."

Kanda got a good look at the woman who was holding the Moyashi. Brown hair and eyes; it didn't take much for him to make the connection that this must be the crazy caretaker General Cross must have been talking about.

"You need to be more careful Allegro," She sighed, setting the boy back down on his feet. "There are a lot of nasty people out there who would snatch a little kid like you up in a heartbeat. You need to stay close."

"I know, Miss Erika."

"Do you? This is-" But before Erika could finish her reprimand, Lenalee was pushing past both Erika and Allegro towards Kanda.

"Kanda!" She gasped. Like she had been worried for him. Had something happened?

"Hmm? Do you know this boy Lena?" Erika hummed, looking between Kanda and Lenalee, one hand resting on Allegro's shoulder, as if to make sure he wouldn't run off.

Lenalee had a slightly panicked look, and her and Kanda caught gazes, Kanda subtly shifting an eyebrow. Technically speaking, they hadn't been briefed on what to do if this sort of situation had happened.

"Cousin," Lenalee's voice somehow managed to work. "We're cousins."

"Cousins?" Erika's voice was doubtful, and Lenalee hoped that she would believe the lie, and it almost seemed that it was going to work when Allegro spoke up.

"What? No way!" The younger boy protested. "There's no way a girl like you could be related to a bastard like him!" Never mind the fact that it was his first time meeting the girl.

"Watch the language," Erika growled, missing how Lenalee's face drained of color in favor of cuffing Allegro's ear.

"It's true!" Allegro insisted, head shifting to look up towards Erika. "He's part of that kid snatcher organization you're always muttering about when you think I can't hear you, Miss Erika!"

The temperature seemed to drop significantly in the surrounding area.

"…What?" Uncomprehending. Uncertain if she heard correctly.

"He's the accommodator?" Lenalee's mouth moved before she could think, staring at the little boy at Erika's side.

He did have white hair… And the right eyes… But where was the massive scar that the General had been talking about?

"Accommodator?" Allegro's voice piped up. "What's that?"

"Nothing you need to worry about Allegro," Erika responded quickly. "We need to get going. We're going to be late as it is."

"You're not going anywhere," Kanda growled, pushing himself up off the ground.

"Oh?" Erika gave a little laugh. "And you think a little boy like yourself can stop me?"

But Kanda never gets a chance to answer.

Because at that moment, Allegro placed his hands on his head and started _screaming_.

_**~~Allegro's Crescendo~~**_

_****_Uh.. Yeah... Cliffhanger... And you're going to hate me for what I say next.

Updates... Yeah, my schedule for updating is going to be thrown for a loop for a bit. Meaning, it may be every other Sunday for updates, instead of every Sunday. Track season is starting to get started, and I have musical and OM practice as well... Also, remember District band, which was why I took a break from _Allegro's Crescendo_? Um, yeah, about that...

I made it to Region Band, which takes place end of next month, and I'm not going to have much time to write because of that as well, because I'm pretty sure my band director wants me to make it to States...

I'll try to update as much as I can between now and the end February/beginning of March, but don't freak out to much if not much happens, okay? You can PM me [gentle] reminders of updating, and asking where I'm at if you like, seeing as I get on at least once a day to check email, but just remember updates aren't going to be guaranteed every week for a while alright?

**_Next time on Allegro's Crescendo: Tacet_**

****_..._

_[See what I did there? Tacet? Not playing? No? You don't get it? Drat...]_

Anyway... real preview now:

_"What's with that look on your face? You look like an idiot."_

_"Oh nothing," But the smile/smirk never left her face. "It's just..." The horn of the boat blew, signalling its departure, and she stared after it as it made from the docks and out to see._

_"I met an old friend today."_

And, before anyone asks, no, the two in the preview aren't OC's. They're actually two characters we know quite well, and some of us may love. Who are they? You have to wait and see. You can guess if you like though.

Now, please, read and review and tell me what you think, _per favore_~!

~~Paw-Chan Signing Out~~


	10. Tacet

Hey, I'm back and alive~! Sorry about the second month-long wait, but here we are, finally, with the tenth movement! And, even better, you don't have to [hopefully] worry about me falling under the radar for a while now~!

I'll do the best within my power to keep regular updates now that my schedule has been stabilized. This is my current priority as of right now, but I do have some other projects I'm working on...

Also sorry about not updating before. I have a crap load of excuses ready, but the main reason is laziness. I needed a break, and laziness kicked in... Add to the idea some minor writer's block [it's gone now, though~!] and its not exactly conducive to writing updates...

This chapter may seem a little confusing, considering where we left off, but don't worry~!

_This is Flashback..._

Now, let's start the Tenth Movement: Tacet!

**Disclaimer: Still, after all this time, I don't own D,Gray-Man. Disappointing, isn't it?**

_**Allegro's Crescendo**_

_Allen was never found by Cross after attempting to bring Mana back. Neither did the Millennium Earl or the Noah's take him in. No, a third party found young Allen instead, and from that day on, he wasn't 'Allen' anymore. Instead, the Destroyer of Time gained a new name. That name was…_

**The Tenth Movement: Tacet**

She sighed, bored out of her mind, toying with her spoon. She was sitting outside of a store called '_Ye Old Candy Shoppe_' in some town whose name she had already forgotten. The ice cream she had been given was gone already, and she had been threatened with perpetual grounding until the end of the first act if she even dared leaving her seat by herself. Or by using… _certain _means, we shall say, in order to entertain her lonesome self.

She pouted, and kicked the base of the table. It caused the dish that had once contained her frozen treat to rattle, clattering across the surface, but other than that, it did virtually nothing to alleviate her boredom.

She could barely contain a screech of frustration as she slid down her chair. She sunk lower, and lower, and lower still until a hand settled upon her shoulder.

"Now, now," Smoke wisped by her ear, drifting down to her nose and causing her to wrinkle it at the sharp smell. "I thought the Earl taught you better than that. What do you think he would say if he saw a 'proper' young lady, such as yourself, slouching like that?"

"Tyki!" She crowed in response, ignoring the reprimand, twisting in her seat, spoon thrown away in favor of wrapping her arms around her 'elder' 'sibling'. "Thank goodness you're here! I was _so_ bored!"

"I was gone for barely even ten minutes, Rhode." Tyki grumbled, pulling the cigarette from his lips, letting it dangle idly from his fingers as he blew out another puff of smoke.

"But that's ten minutes _too_ long!" Rhode whined in response, voice a bit muffled from where her hug conveniently hid her face in his chest. "I nearly died of boredom! I almost went _crazy!_" Tyki gave a hardly suppressed snort as he took another drag off of his cigarette.

"Sorry to tell you, but you're already crazy Rhode." Tyki ruffled her hair with his free hand. In the distance, a clock chimed the hour.

"Oh!" Rhode cried, as if she were just remembering something, pulling away from Tyki, relinquishing her grip on her sibling. "I almost forgot! Millennie said he had something he wanted to show us today!"

Instead, she adopted a near bruising grip on Tyki's hand, who barely noticed, used to it as he was.

"Us?"Tyki asked, as Rhode dragged him along. "Or just yourself, and you feel like dragging me along?"

"Both of us," Rhode insisted, weaving around passerby. "I think he found a new family member!"

_~~No role for the movement~~_

The docks. That's where Rhode dragged Tyki off to. She had even insisted on them walking the three, four-something miles it was to reach the docks from the town they had been in, instead of just opening one of her doors to take them there.

Apparently, whatever the Earl had to show them either wasn't that important, or Rhode was pushing buttons and testing limits by taking as long as she wanted to get there. Tyki was willing to bet it was the latter, as she did consider herself the Earl's favorite (not to mention, despite his appearing older than her, she was actually older than him.), and she almost never got in trouble with him anyways… Add to the fact that she hadn't had anything interesting to do for a while, and, with Rhode, it's almost always a recipe for trouble.

But, anyways, back to the docks.

The docks, quite frankly, were smelly. They smelt worse than Tyki's cancer stick. Not that his cigarettes normally smelt _bad,_ per se, but still. If she (Rhode) had to describe the smell, it would be a weird combination of Akuma dust, rotted fish, and, of course, we can't forget- _Tyki's cigarettes._

They were also extremely crowded. There was a ship, the _Campania_, departing from port that day, leaving on a voyage to America. Rhode thought maybe she had heard that it was its maiden voyage, but she wasn't too sure. It didn't matter though, because right now she was looking for Millennie with Tyki.

Well, she _had _been looking for Millennie with Tyki… But currently, she was short one Tyki. But she wasn't lost. Rhode knew exactly where she was! Well… mostly. She knew she was currently standing on a crate close to the _Campania,_ but that was about it. That didn't mean she was lost though. No, no, no. It was _Tyki_ who was lost, not herself.

"Hey," Something was whispered up to her. "You lost too, Miss?"

And, regardless of what whoever was saying, she reiterated that she was _most _definitely not lost. Just… a little misplaced. That's what she told the person who whispered up to her a bit distractedly. Her eyes were still scanning the crowd for Tyki's top hat, or maybe the puffed out umbrella, Lero, who was Millennie's golem.

"Oh… Well, can I stay and be misplaced with you?" Rhode turned her head down, ready to snap at the human who was annoying her, before she got a glimpse of him.

Black hair.

Jade eyes.

It was…

She blinked, and the spell was broken.

It was actually a little boy, maybe a year younger than the age she appeared, with snow colored hair and storm cloud grey eyes.

Part of her wanted to tell the kid to bugger off, but something stopped her. Instead, before she could really think about it, her voice went ahead and said,

"Go ahead. You have to climb up here on your _own_ though."

"_I want be up in the tree house too –!"_

_A childish stomp of the foot. A goading laugh._

"_You can – I'm not stopping you. You just have to climb up on your own."_

"Oh. Okay."

Rhode sidled over a bit on the crate- severely doubting that the crate would hold the both of them -as she watched the boy dig his fingers into the top of the crate, hauling himself slowly up onto the crate. Rhode shuffled over a tad more, her Mary Janes clacking on the wood a bit as she gave the boy a bit more room to get on the crate.

At long last, the boy did finally heave himself up on the crate. He puffed for a moment before standing up next to Rhode, wobbling slightly, nearly falling off the crate.

"_Woah, don't fall now. It'll be on _my _head if you get hurt, you know."_

Rhode shook her head, eyes burning for a moment.

"Wow, you can see a _lot_ from up here, can't you?" The boy laughed, his head tilting up a tad to look at her, a smile on her face. She returned it with a smirk of her own.

"You sure can!" Rhode answered, her hands lifting to be rested upon her hips. "Why _else_ do you think I picked it?"

The little boy shrugged noncommittally, staring out at the sea of people that were swarming over the entire area of the docks like ants over sugar.

"Are you looking for somebody, Miss?" The boy asked, looking over the crowd a little before turning towards Rhode.

"Uh-huh," Rhode nodded. "I'm looking for my…" She hesitated. What was her relation with Tyki in this era now? Oh! "My uncle. We're supposed to be meeting up with family, but he got lost." And the rest of what the boy said caught up with her.

"And don't call me 'Miss'," She wrinkled her nose. "My name's Rhode. Rhode Kamelot."

"Rhode…" Her name fell from his lips, and she felt an unnatural shudder fall down her spine. It sounded so much like…

"_I bet you were given that name because dreamers have many different paths in life they can take. Am I right, little miss –?"_

"That's a really pretty name!" The boy beamed. "My name's Allegro."

Allegro…

"_No! It says _Adagio,_ not _Allegro_, –! It's even in the title! Really, when you act like this during lessons, I wonder how you can be such an angel to your parents…"_

_A cheeky grin._

"_Aww, you still love me anyways –!"_

"That's a neat name too," Rhode answered. "Your parents must be musicians." The boy, Allegro, hummed.

"I dunno," His thumb had raised towards his mouth, and Rhode didn't know what came over her, but her own came out and slapped his away. He was unperturbed by this act, and continued talking. "Never knew my parents. Pretty much grew up with the circus."

"So someone at the circus gave you that name?"

"Nah," Allegro shook his head, rocking back on his heels to stare up at the seagulls scattering in the sky. "Miss Erika gave me the name. She took me in after…" His eyes dulled a little, and he gulped a little. "…after my last caretaker passed away."

Rhode didn't know what to say. So, she settled on the clichéd mortal thing to say when someone didn't know _what _to say;

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Allegro didn't even bat an eyelash. "'S wasn't your fault. 'Sides, I have Miss Erika now…" He trailed off, and Rhode peeked a look at his face when he didn't continue talking.

It was pale.

"Something wrong?" Rhode couldn't help the curiosity that overcame her. He was so familiar, she just couldn't place _how_.

"M-Miss Erika…" His voice wavered, and he sounded nervous.

"What about her?"

"She's going to be so mad at me!" Allegro wailed as he curled in on himself, his hands covering his head. "She _told_ me not to run off!" Rhode blinked.

"Didn't you say you were lost though?"

"Yeah, but last time I got lost we ran into these _bad_ people and Miss Erika told me to stick close and not stray, but I didn't and we got separated and she's going to be so _mad_ at me!"

He managed to say that all in one breath; Rhode was mildly impressed. She wondered what sort of 'bad people' Allegro had run into, but decided not to ask. She had been nosy enough for one day.

"Well… Umm…" Rhode tried to think of something to say. She was spared though, as someone came up, interrupting her.

"There you are!" It was a woman's voice, sounding extremely irritated, and it caused Allegro's head to snap up so fast, that Rhode was extremely lucky that she had moved her head, otherwise they would have collided.

"I told you to stay close, Allegro!" The woman snapped, and Rhode faintly realized as she studied the older girl that this must be the 'Miss Erika' Allegro had been talking about.

Brown hair…

Green eyes…

"I'm sorry Miss Erika," Allegro mumbled, and Rhode watched as Erika softened. "I didn't mean to get lost…"

"_I'm sorry –. I promise I'll never, ever, do that again!"_

"_I know. Now, please, go to your room for a little while."_

"I know Allegro," Erika sighed. "But please, don't let it happen again."

"I won't Miss Erika, promise!" Allegro nodded.

"So this is your Miss Erika, Allegro?" Rhode cut into the conversation, tired of being a bystander. Erika, at least the woman she was _assuming_ to be Erika, jolted, and looked over in Rhode's direction for the first time, as if she hadn't noticed Rhode before she had spoken.

Allegro nodded enthusiastically, and Erika's lips quirked a smile as she held Allegro's hands as he jumped off the crate.

"And who might this friend of yours be, Allegro?" Her voice was pleasant, light and airy, but Rhode could tell that Erika wasn't trusting of her. Thinking that she could be one of those 'bad people' Allegro had spoke shortly about.

The only organization she knew of that used children, though, was…

"This is Rhode, Miss Erika!" Allegro's voice cut through.

"Rhode?" Erika echoed, and Rhode nodded, dipping a short curtsey.

"Rhode Kamelot," She even deigned a smile as she lowered herself to sit on the edge of the crate instead of standing. Her feet were starting to hurt. "It's nice to meet you Miss Erika."

"It's nice to meet a lovely young lady such as yourself as well," The older woman nodded, her hand wrapping tightly around Allegro's, rooting him to the spot. "If you don't mind me asking, where are your… guardians?"

"I'm going to see my Uncle," Rhode answered immediately, knocking her heels against the crate. "It's just that my other Uncle who's _supposed_ to be taking me to see him got himself lost."

Quite quick thinking, if she said so herself; and, not to mention, most of it was the truth. _Most_ of it, that was.

"Are you going to be alright here on your own?" Erika asked cautiously. "I'd offer to help you look for your uncle, but we are on a tight schedule right now, thanks to a certain someone."

Allegro gave a sheepish laugh and rubbed the back of his head with his free hand.

"Oh, I'll be fine," Rhode smiled, and waved as the two turned, starting to disappear back into the crowd. "It was nice meeting you Allegro!" She trilled his name just because she could. "I hope we meet again!"

Allegro turned his head back, shyly waving back before finally being swallowed up by the crowd.

"_Fret not, my little lamb. We'll meet again- of this, I promise you."_

Rhode didn't know how long she stayed staring at the spot where Allegro disappeared, but it was long enough that Tyki had found her, and had to snap her out of whatever daze she had been placed in himself.

"What's with that look on your face?" Tyki asked, voice scarcely able to be heard over the cries and '_Bon voyages!_' of many of the people on the docks. "You look like an idiot."

"Oh nothing," She hummed, whatever look that her face held remaining unchanged, "It's just…" The horn of a boat blew as a signal of its departure. Rhode stared after it as it made its way out to sea, wondering if perhaps that was the boat Allegro… The boat that _he_ was on.

She tossed her head, face regaining its usual taunting look.

"It's just that I met an old friend today Tyki!" She laughed, and threw her arms around her uncle-brother-sibling.

"Really now?" He asked, cigarette drooping from his mouth, ash dripping down into Rhode's hair.

"Really!" Rhode nodded, before bouncing back on her heels, and taking up one of Tyki's hands into her own. "Now let's go! Millennie's gonna be _really_ mad that _you _kept him waiting!"

And she raced off, dragging Tyki with her.

The matter of the old friend she met that day was never mentioned again.

_**~~Allegro's Crescendo~~**_

So, I'm thinking some people are gonna be mad at me, going, '_What about the end of last chapter?_' Well, in my defense, it's coming up. Soon. _Extremely_ soon. This chapter was more of getting Rhode and Tyki into the plot- Rhode more so than Tyki.

Now, I did something fun with this chapter as a sort of attempt to apologize for the long wait. There are two allusions in this chapter to outside animes/songs/etc. Your job as readers is to find the two, and name what they're from- as in, what show/musical/whatever they are from. First one to tell me the allusions will get a dedication next chapter, but, you have to get your guess in before next chapter is posted.

Pretty much, you have a week to figure it out.

And, if you're hung up that the allusion maybe from a different show or that, fear not, this is staying strictly _D,Gray-Man_. Just to clear that up.

Next time on _**Allegro's Crescendo: Fugue**_

_"Now then, General Klaud Nyne," His eyes glinted as he spoke, and the grandfather clock chimed the late hour._

_"Tell me what really happened."_

I have to say Fugue is a really amusing band term to say. It's like you're saying 'Feud' but it's a 'g' instead of a 'd' at the end...

Well, Read and Review and tell me what you think! And, don't forget to drop in your guesses for the allusions~!

~~Paw-Chan Signing Out~~

_P.S- One's probably more obvious than the other. ;D_

_P.S.S- If you could tell me where the allusions are from, that would be even more awesome. ^_^_


	11. Fugue

Could it be? Yes it could! Something's coming, something good~! ^_^ And that something is the latest update of_ Allegro's Crescendo~!_

I apologize for the late update; pretty much, life caught up with me, and refused to let go. That, and I also kinda-sorta got distracted by some other projects... I got stuck on the last part of the chapter, and that's the main reason why it took so long. I couldn't get out of the pothole 'til now...

If you remember last chapter, I had asked for you to guess the two allusions in it, and if possible, where they were from. Nobody got both of them, but the anonymous reviewer _TNT_ did get one correct, so this chapter gets dedicated to them~!

The allusions were the ship _Campania_, which was the ship from the last Arc in Black Butler/Kuroshitsuji, and the song _Adagio (for Strings)_. The second one was a bit harder, because it was sort of vague... The part where that is mentioned last chapter is the italics right under where Allegro introduces himself to Rhode.

Anyways, let's allow The Eleventh Movement to commence~!

**Disclaimer: Still don't own D,Gray-Man...**

_**Allegro's Crescendo**_

_Allen was never found by Cross after attempting to bring Mana back. Neither did the Millennium Earl or the Noah's take him in. No, a third party found young Allen instead, and from that day on, he wasn't 'Allen' anymore. Instead, the Destroyer of Time gained a new name. That name was…_

**The Eleventh Movement: Fugue**

"Marian disappeared." Komui was half asleep at this late hour, and as such, started at the sudden sound of a voice echoing through his office. He looked up from the paperwork he had been _this_ close to using as a pillow to see Klaud leaning against the doorway to his office. Lau Jimin was perched on her shoulder, staring at him with eerie yellow eyes. "We had Timcampy with us for a time, but he took off at some point during the train ride back to Headquarters."

Komui sighed, adjusting his glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"And the accommodator?" Please, please, he begged the Lord, let only Marian be the sole Exorcist they lost.

"Escaped." Klaud answered. "There was an Akuma attack, and the caretaker took off with him while Lenalee and Kanda were busy dealing with it."

Great. Just great. A chance at fighting against the Akuma and gaining another ally to collect Innocence, and it was gone. Slipped through their fingers.

"The Finders did nothing? And what about yourself?" Komui tried his hardest to keep his aggravation from slipping into his voice. He really didn't want to explain this one to Central.

"The Finders are with the Lord now," Klaud finally moved from her spot, moving into the office, shutting the door behind her. "May He bless them for their hard work. As for myself, when the Akuma attacked, it caused panic along the street, and I lost sight of the two and they disappeared into the masses."

Komui studied her for a moment. The general's face was impassive, belying no emotion. Yet… Something made him feel uneasy. As if he was being lied to.

"General," The light glared off his glasses making it impossible for Klaud to look at his eyes as he spoke, fingers lacing under Komui's chin, propping up his head. "Are you absolutely confident that _that_ is what transpired?" She hesitated, but only the tiniest bit.

"Do you doubt my report supervisor?" Klaud challenged back coolly. She was tensed just a tad, and Lau Jimin's fur was bristled.

"Just remember, what is put _on_ record can never be taken _off _record." Komui responded easily, tone carefree but something darker also laced behind it also. "Now, I'll ask you once more. For the _record_, General Nyne, _is that what happened_?"

There wasn't any hesitation this time. The words came easily out of her mouth, slicker than butter sliding across a hot griddle.

"Yes sir, Supervisor," Klaud's voice was stoic and she looked past Komui as she spoke, eyes fixating themselves on some part of the bookshelf above his head. "For the _record_, that is what happened."

"Alright then," He answered, unlacing his fingers, scribbling something in one of the files on his desk. He signed something, then pulled out a stamp, and stamped something in the file, before shutting it and pushing it off to a far corner of his desk.

Klaud watched as Komui relaxed a tad and leaned back in his chair, waiting to be dismissed. He picked up his coffee mug- a light blue color, with a pink bunny on it that had been given to him from Lenalee a few months ago as a gift -and cradling it in his hands. The coffee was almost cold, but it still held some remnants of warmth in the ceramic.

"Now then, General Klaud Nyne," His eyes glinted as he spoke, and the grandfather clock attested to the ever growing late hour.

"Tell me what _really_ happened."

_~~Series of rounds, all with the same start, but different endings~~_

"What's troubling you, Lenalee?" Lenalee jumped; she had been so deep into her thoughts that she had forgotten about the General sitting next to her.

"Hmm? Oh… I-it's nothing General Tiedoll." Lenalee blushed, biting the inside of her cheek nervously. It wasn't nothing, but she really didn't want to tell him that. In reality, it had to do with her last mission.

The mission with the little accommodator boy, Allen Walker.

"It doesn't seem like nothing." Tiedoll observed calmly. Lenalee fidgeted- she didn't know whether or not she should tell the General. She and Kanda both had been told not to tell, and that Klaud would take care of the mission report and informing Komui, but still. Even though she had _sworn_ she wouldn't tell, she still felt immensely guilty.

"You know," His voice was casual and calm- the sort of tone it normally held. "When Daisya came back from his first mission, he had been upset." Tiedoll wasn't looking at her anymore. Instead, he was looking down at his sketch pad, drawing something with an unremarkable steady hand what with all the wobbling the carriage was doing.

"Came back in tears, the poor boy- but don't tell him I said that, eh? He won't be happy with me telling a charming young lass like yourself a boy like him was crying alright?" He gave her a smile, his eyes twinkling a bit with mischief behind his glasses. She reciprocated with a small, nervous, smile of her own, which seemed to spur Tiedoll on to continue the story.

And, though she didn't know it, the smile had been all that Tiedoll wanted from the young Exorcist.

_~~Fugue~~_

His blood was boiling. Kanda wasn't sure why, but he was fairly certain it had to do with his last mission- his first _failed_ mission. He just thought of the mission, and that brat's face popped into his head, and he could just feel his blood start to bubble and boil.

He back flipped, tucking his head down to his chin and holding his arms close to his chest. A hiss of air sliced past his ear as his heels dug back down into the ground.

That brat… He was so irritating!

Kanda couldn't pursue that particular train of thought for long, however, because a swish cut through the air quicker than he could blink, and a line of blood trickled down his arm. He stared at it blankly for a moment, not even wincing as a burning sensation ran down the appendage, the blood flow stopped before it was able to continue.

"Kanda, is everything alright?" Kanda snapped his head up from his arm to stare at his training partner. Well, technically, Kanda was _his_ training partner, but eh, semantics. "You seem a bit off today."

"It's nothing Marie," Kanda answered automatically, lying.

"It doesn't seem like nothing," Marie prodded, sitting down on the floor and patting the spot next to him. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," Kanda said dryly, but he took a seat next to Marie anyways.

"Does it have to do with your last mission?" Marie asked, and Kanda shook his head in another lie, before remembering and reminding himself that Marie was _blind_ and that his head wasn't so hollow that the older Exorcist (by age, anyways,) would be able to hear his head rattle.

"No…" But there was an edge of uncertainty in his voice, and to Kanda's misfortune, Marie picked up on it.

"You don't seem so certain about it," Marie commented. "Is it because it was a failed mission you're upset?"

"Yeah," Kanda agreed immediately, forcing the image of the Moyashi's face and Lenalee's tears from his head. "That's it. I just can't get what went wrong out of my head."

"Do you want to…" Marie started, but his ears picked up Kanda standing and making his way across the room even as he spoke, the door of the training room slamming shut before he could finish. "…talk about it?"

"Well," Marie mused to himself as he stood, picking his way out of the room as well. "He'll talk about it when he's good and ready, I suppose."

_~~Fugue~~_

"_I'll always love you…"_

"_Here, I'd like you to meet my fiancée, –."_

"_A song bird could never love a lamb!"_

"_Don't listen to what the others say. My love for you, – , is as deep and unending as the sea."_

"I'm going out for a while Millennie!" Rhode shouted from the empty front hall of the family's 'house'. She was slipping on her shoes, and took about two steps towards the door before tripping.

Her skirt flared as she fell, and her legs splayed open as she made her undignified landing. Rhode glared at the cat who was sitting on the floor right in front of her, licking its paw.

"That was rude Lulubell!" Rhode whined as she picked herself up from the ground. "Shoo! I said, shoo, you dumb cat-thing!" She stomped her foot, heel clacking loudly against the floor, a little too close to Lulubell for the cat's liking apparently, as the cat raised her haunches and spat out a hiss before darting off down the hall, turning a corner sharply, practically walking on the wall before finishing the turn.

"_Look, it's a kitty! Here kitty, kitty, kitty! Aw, it's so cute! Can we keep it? Huh, huh, huh?"_

"_I'm sorry, but I don't think we can. Your sister would most definitely get really angry if I told you that you could keep it. Don't you already have a cat at home, anyways?"_

"_Yeah… But she's so lonely! I'm certain if I brought this lil' fella home she'd not be lonely anymore!"_

"Go… away…" Rhode growled as she pressed the palm of her hand harshly into her forehead, her eyes scrunching shut.

"_No! Don't go away! Please, don't leave me here!"_

"Stop it!" Rhode cried, her door appearing behind her as she took one, two, three stumbling steps back, before falling through it to her 'room', her other dimension. The doors slammed shut of their own accord, leaving her surrounded by floating candles, dolls and presents, sitting on a blackened floor that was invisible because of the black that filled all the blank space.

"_You love her? You've got to be mad, –! She's just a child! You're an adult!"_

"I. Said. Stop_. IT!_" Rhode howled, tears burning in her eyes as she slammed her foot violently onto the floor. The sound of something cracking echoed through the dimension, and barely visible cracks appeared along some of the candles and dolls.

She wasn't crazy, she wasn't, she insisted to herself as she curled her arms around her knees, hugging them tight to her chest. It wasn't her fault that it ached so much that she could see _him_ in him, and they had the same aura, and he was a constant reminder, and that he had to be _him_ and there was just not other way, was there?

At least, Rhode really hoped that they were one in the same.

_~~Fugue~~_

Allegro stood out on the deck of the boat, grasping the railing tightly as he looked out to the now black sea. It was evening now, the stars and swollen moon the only light to the otherwise pitch deck. He could pick out the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper and a few other constellations he had been shown out in the sky, with how clear the night was.

Allegro had never been on a boat before. It was an interesting experience, to say the least. There was a lot more people than he was used to being around, and that was saying something seeing as he used to be part of the circus. The ground below him rocked a lot as well, and it made him a little nauseous from time to time. But he was getting used to it- to being on a boat, that was –really fast! Miss Erika even said so; she said he was getting his sea legs faster than she did when she rode the boat over here to Britain.

He wondered what it was like, over in America, where she was from. She had told him that it wasn't all that much different from where they had been before, but something had to be different, right? It couldn't all be the same, could it?

His hand and eye throbbed with pain at that moment, and Allegro let out a small gasp. His knees buckled, and his right hand moved to cover his eye, which was throbbing.

"Allegro?" A voice echoed, quiet and tired, behind him. "Is everything okay? Are you feeling sick, does something hurt?"

The pain slowly subsided, and Allegro relaxed a tad.

"I'm fine," Allegro answered, turning a bit to give his caretaker a smile before turning to stare out at the ocean once more.

Erika mussed his hair a bit before moving her hands down to rest on his shoulders.

"If you say so," She said lightly, before deftly changing the subject. "The ocean is really pretty at night, isn't it?"

"Mm-hmm," Allegro hummed as he nodded his assent. "When we get to America will we be staying near the ocean?"

"Probably not," Erika admitted. "We'll most likely be staying with my parents for a time, or one of my friends, until we have the money and can find a place to settle down by ourselves. Maybe then?"

"I guess…" Allegro had a pout in his voice, and Erika couldn't help but give a small laugh.

"Don't worry," Erika laughed. "America has plenty of lakes and ponds that can be way more fun than the ocean."

"'Kay…" Allegro muttered, and Erika gave off another laugh.

"Come, we should go to bed now." Erik wrapped one of her arms around his shoulders as she turned him around, leading him back across the deck. "I don't even want to imagine the sort of terror you'll be in the morning if you don't get to sleep."

_~~Fugue~~_

_It was a scream almost animalistic in quality. Underneath the screaming, as it tapered off, the whirring of a gear seemed to cover it up. The boy- the accommodator, Klaud suspected, -had fallen to his knees and was breathing quite heavily. Make-up that had obviously been covering his branding scar had disappeared, showing its uniqueness to the crowd. But, what was most interesting to the General, however, were his eyes. To be more specific, his _left _eye._

_His right eye was the storm grey color it had been when she had come on scene. The left however, had changed- the cause, perhaps, of his screams. Instead of the eye being grey, it was painted like a bulls-eye, completely black with three red rings. No iris, and you couldn't tell if the black in the center was the pupil or not._

_Immediately following the change of the boys' eye color, and Klaud had thought nothing of it at the time, but looking back now, she thought there might be some sort of connection between the two. Following the change of the eye, the presence of two Akuma had made itself known._

_Attracted by the abundance of Innocence, no doubt, seeing as there was at least three, if not four, accommodators of the substance in the immediate area._

_They were only Level Ones, so Klaud stayed put. This was technically Lenalee and Kanda's assignment, anyways. Fighting the Akuma would be a good training experience for the two. Klaud focused on the boy; he seemed to have combated the pain of his eye, but he was gripping his left arm as if he were in an excruciating amount of pain, trying to stop something from happening. A parasitic type, perhaps?_

_A flash of light alerted Klaud to the activation of Kanda and Lenalee's respective Innocence. Her eyes trailed over slightly to the spot where the two were, watching as Lenalee took to the sky to battle the one while Kanda took after the other. Klaud redirected her attention to the boy, who now had an older woman hovering over him with her hands resting on his shoulders. It only took a quick moment of deduction to determine that this woman was the allegedly 'unstable' caretaker of the accommodator._

_Well, she'd determine how unstable the woman was herself._

_She was light on her feet as she weaved through the screaming masses towards the target. Lau Jimin was tensed on her shoulder, ready to activate at her command. Klaud rested her hand on Lau Jimin's head in an attempt to soothe the monkey, but it merely sent a tremor cascading down the others fur._

_Klaud reached the two just as the caretaker was heaving the boy to his feet. She made eye contact with the caretaker, who took a step backwards. Klaud was in full General regale, and it was obvious that the woman recognized it, thanks to Cross. Klaud simply snapped her fingers, and Lau Jimin leaped from his post on her shoulder, Innocence activating as he blocked their escape to the rear. The left held the Akuma, the right a wall. They were trapped._

"_You're trapped." The redundancy was obvious, but Klaud stated the fact anyways. The caretaker scowled, and her fingers curled into the shoulder blades of the little boy._

"_What do you want with him?" Her tone was sharp, but her voice was level. She was restraining herself, and the reason was obvious. The accommodator was spooked, trembling in her grasp, and Klaud had no clue what his Innocence was like. It could be benign, but it could also be something extremely volatile that upsetting him could put either him or herself in danger._

"_To make a soldier out of him." Klaud cut right to the chase. She wasn't going to bother with semantics, she wasn't going to flower anything. "He's the type of warrior we need."_

"_A soldier? For what?" The other dared to bark a laugh. "An invisible war that no one knows about? With those 'Akuma' as enemies that you send _children_ to battle?" _

"_It does not concern you," Klaud dismissed her. "It would be best if you just handed the boy over now. Neither you nor him have decision over his fate- God has already picked it for him."_

_When it seemed as if there was going to be no movement of the boy being released to join her, she raised her hand to signal to Lau Jimin to incapacitate the elder. However, before such order could be given, a melodic voice echoed through the chaos._

_It was the boy._

"_No." He said in both a surprisingly clear, and mature, voice. "I'm not going with you. I don't care what you say! I _do_ have a choice in what I do with my life, God doesn't control it all! I'm making the choice that I'm not going with you! If God doesn't like it, he can fuck off!"_

"_It seems Allegro's made his decision," The caretaker had a Cheshire-like grin on her face. "Or are you going to kidnap a child for your army of God?" Klaud stood her ground._

"'_Allegro' may have made his decision," She stared down at the young boy. The accommodator. "But what about Allen Walker? What is his decision?"_

"_Allen's decision…" The boy's eyes were starting to glaze, and Klaud wasn't the only one to notice. The caretaker did as well, and Kanda and Lenalee had too, as they stood off to the side, Akuma defeated._

"_His decision is…" The air was pulsing slightly, crackling with some sort of unknown power. The color of his eyes almost seemed to be changing. Flecks of another color were starting to show through, but before Klaud could determine whether or not it was her imagination at work, a gunshot echoed through the empty square._

_All company present was startled, but the caretaker and accommodator were the first to completely recover. They evidently weren't ones to look a gift horse in the mouth, and while Klaud and the others were distracted, took the opportunity to slip past them. _

"_Damn it," Kanda swore after he recovered. He held his sword tightly within his grasp. He made as if he were to pursue, but a voice stopped him._

"_Don't." The clack of boots hitting against cobblestone and the smell of cigarette smoke entered the scene._

_It was Cross._

"_Leave them," He ordered, Timcampy fluttering anxiously at his shoulder. "If she wants to keep the brat, let her. It'll be her own fault when she winds up dead then." He flicked ash off the tip of the cancer stick casually._

"_You know something about that boy, don't you Marian?" Klaud accused, Lau Jimin deactivating and returning to his usual perch on Klaud's shoulder. "Something that you aren't telling The Order."_

_Cross smirked._

"_Plausible Deniability, General." Was his response as he took another drag of the cigarette. "Just remember that. As long as you understand that, you'll be fine."_

_He dropped the cigarette to the ground, crushing it underfoot. Cross turned and left; Timcampy went to follow, but he raised his hand in a similar silent command as what Klaud would give to Lau Jimin and the golden golem remained._

_And in the swirling dust left over from the Akuma's victims and the machines themselves, Cross Marian disappeared from the lives of The Order members._

_That was, until five years later…_

_**~~Allegro's Crescendo~~**_

Yes, that last line does mean that a time-skip comes next. That means that we get into some stuff that may/may not have happened in the manga/anime and majorly different stuff as well.

I'm not going to guarantee the next chapter will come out next week, mainly because I'm going to be busy for a while. I have AP exams that I need to seriously study for if I want to have even an inkling of passing.

Next time:

_**The Second Piece; The Twelfth Movement: Five Measures Rest**_

No preview this time, I'm sorry. T.T

So, you know the routine- read, review, tell me what you think, yadda, yadda, yadda. XD

Thanks for reading~! I really appreciate all of your reviews, faves, and alerts. They really make me smile, and I appreciate that very much so~! ^_^

~~Paw-Chan Signing Out~~


	12. Five Measures Rest

Oh my God, is it actually-? Yes, yes it is. An update after who knows how long~! Woo-Hoo! ^_^

I am sorry about the delay, it's just that bits of this chapter decided to be a tad difficult and I had to work my way around them...

Anyways, enough chatting! Let's start the second piece of this shindig, and start the twelfth movement!

**Disclaimer: Nope. Still don't own D,Gray-Man.**

_**Allegro's Crescendo**_

_Allen was never found by Cross after attempting to bring Mana back. Neither did the Millennium Earl or the Noah's take him in. No, a third party found young Allen instead, and from that day on, he wasn't 'Allen' anymore. Instead, the Destroyer of Time gained a new name. That name was…_

**The Second Piece; The Twelfth Movement: Five Measures Rest**

It was a sunny morning. Not a cloud in sight, shadows speckling the ground as the path was littered with a canopy of trees hanging above her. She skipped as she walked, humming a merry tune. A pink umbrella was swung back and forth in one hand, with a cute little toy pumpkin at the top. The other hand held a wicker basket with a red and white checked cloth covering it. She tucked a stray hair back behind her ear, only pausing long enough to stare after a murder that had suddenly taken wing after she stepped out from the cover of the trees into the open field.

But the murder, the grouping of crows, is really inconsequential to the story. What we, you really, want, is the object located after where the murder had been resting. Down the path a ways, resting at a nearby lake.

It was a quaint little house, white with a light red trim, and a little chimney coming off of the one side. A flower garden rested on either side of the front door. A tall maple tree lived in the back yard and had a swing hanging from one of the branches.

She skipped up right to the door, and knocked three times, rocking on her heels as she waited for it to open.

After a moment, it did, revealing a familiar face on the other side…

_~~Measure One~~_

Smoke drifted lazily through the partitions in the leaves between their brethren, and the branches that kept them rooted to their spots. On a particularly thick branch, rested what seemed to be a golden yellow bird.

That was to say, if birds were circular, had a cross on their front, and wingspans of nearly eight feet. There were two horns, curved atop the 'head' of this creature, (if it could really be called a head at all) and there were four little stubs at the bottom, which one would assume to be feet.

A man, dressed all in black, was leaning up against the trunk of the tree, the wide brim of the hat upon his head hiding his face from view. Red hair was visible however, curling slightly as it trekked down past his shoulders.

This man was visible to any passerby who happened to look off to the side of their path as they made their way by. However, to anyone looking in his vicinity from a distance would not be able to pick him out unless they were looking specifically for anything out of the ordinary.

This was exactly what this man wanted, for it allowed him to be able to keep an eye on his quarry, and they would never know, because in theory, the quarry did not even know he existed. And the only problematic part would have let their guard down enough that they wouldn't bother looking for any abnormalities.

It had been five years. He figured that was a long enough wait.

_~~Measure Two~~_

Knocks echoed from the front hall out to the kitchen, where she was, preparing lunch. A quick look at the clock and calendar immediately told her who the visitor was. She took her time washing her hands off and drying them, however, just before she went to open the door.

She opened the door, and it was just who she expected standing there.

Long, dark, hair that reached mid-back that currently was tied up into a ponytail, and eyes the color of glowing amber. The visitor was dressed in her customary short skirt and knee high boots.

"Mornin' Miss Knox!" She chirped happily as the door was opened.

"Good afternoon Rhode," The response was returned in kind.

"And haven't I told you before? Just call me Erika." Erika gave the statement with mock anger, a smile given at the end ruining the effect a bit. This was ritual; Rhode always came, politely calling Erika 'Miss Knox', and Erika always told her to just call her Erika. It was a never-ending cycle for the two girls.

"Mornin' _Erika,_" Rhode stretched the emphasis on the elders' name, still rocking a bit, anxious. "Where's Allegro?" Rhode stood on tiptoes, trying to see past Erika, who laughed.

"Is someone planning a picnic?" Erika asked instead of answering, a knowing look being given towards the sixteen year old.

"Maybe," Rhode sidestepped. "Where's Allegro?" Erika laughed.

"Such an eager beaver, aren't we?" Erika relieved Rhode of the basket. "He's in his room. You remember where that is?"

"Mm-hmm!" She answered, already halfway to the staircase. Erika just shook her head, and hefted the basket over into the kitchen.

"Kids these days," She said to herself, leaning against the counter. Erika gave a sigh, and turned back to her kids.

She could still remember the day that Allegro had met Rhode. Well, okay, maybe the second time the two had met. It hadn't been too long after they had settled down in their new home at the lakeside.

Erika and Allegro had been walking through the town, getting the groceries done (seeing Erika had still been on edge during that time, and hadn't wanted to let Allegro home alone. Well, that, and it was bad parenting to leave a ten year old home by himself), when they had spotted her in the middle of town square. Well, Allegro had spotted her. It was only by his insistence that they actually had gone over to see if the little girl was, as Allegro had put it, _his _girl or not.

(Allegro never understood why Erika laughed as much as she did after he said that. What was so funny?)

And, surprise, surprise, it was the same little girl.

Little Rhode Kamelot, the then eleven year old girl wonder (nowadays, she was still Rhode Kamelot girl wonder, just sixteen years old, not eleven). Who, apparently, had gotten separated from her Aunt and Uncle, her new guardians, in the midday surge of people when they had been bringing her up from the dock. Her parents, from what the little chatterbox had said, disappeared during the Campania sinking weeks prior, so she had been sentenced to stay in America to live with her only living relatives.

(Erika hadn't been too sure at the time what Allegro had meant by his words of 'Beware of the Earl', but Rhode had looked equally perplexed as well, so it had been alright. Rhode recovered quickly though, nodding in agreement with Allegro. Erika, on the other hand, wouldn't get the real story until weeks later, after Allegro had finally opened up completely with her.)

Rhode had chattered on and on to Allegro and Erika until it seemed like she had talked both their ears off and then some. At one point, Erika finally managed to find a break and politely cut in, asking if she knew where her Aunt and Uncle were, and if not, did she need help finding them?

Rhode had just politely declined, informed them that her Aunt and Uncle told her where to go if they got separated, and had pointed it out during their trip through the town, but it was very nice for 'Allegro's mommy' (which had resulted in a tomato blush from Allegro, and a small one for Erika) to offer, and maybe she and Allegro could hang out some time, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty please, with sugar on top? Erika had just responded with a laugh, saying that Rhode was welcome over anytime, as long as it was alright with her Aunt and Uncle.

The meeting had concluded with Rhode skipping off, her Mary-Jane's clacking against the street as she disappeared into the throngs of people that were still crowding the square.

Erika shook her head, a fond smile popping one her face against her will. It seemed like after that day Allegro and Rhode had been inseparable. Rhode was constantly coming over and playing with Allegro, either in the house, or in the nearby woods, or along the lakeside.

There had been times where Erika had wondered why Rhode had never invited Allegro over to her own house, or why her Aunt and Uncle never thought it pertinent to come over and meet the family that their niece was spending so much time with, but no answers ever came out of it. The questions were always evaded, or Erika herself never got around to asking. But Erika didn't really mind, as long as Allegro came home safe and sound. She couldn't really say unhurt with that, as Allegro was a boy, and they always seemed to have some sort of a bruise or another, but it seemed that with every bruise Allegro had, Rhode had one to match it. So, it was alright.

Erika dumped her dishes in the sink, and as she did such, her eyes happened to pass a certain affixture resting atop the cupboards, then the cloth napkins that were tucked up away by that affixture. Her gaze then met the basket she had left on the table.

It wouldn't do too much harm…

Would it?

_~~Measure Three~~_

"Allegro~!" A heavy weight attached itself to his neck as that oh so familiar voice announced itself in his ear.

"Hello Rhode," Allegro chuckled, craning his neck back to look up at the older girl. His fingers stilled themselves as Rhode loosened her grip and allowed Allegro to turn around and face her. "I wasn't expecting you until later."

"Later?" Rhode gave a mock pout. "Silly! I told you I was coming at twelve!" Allegro nodded in agreement.

"Yes," He agreed whole heartedly. "And it's only…" His words died as storm grey eyes stopped on the clock hanging on the opposite side of the room, right above the door.

"It's only _what_ time?" Rhode parroted back, eyes flashing with something that was quite familiar to Allegro by now. Allegro flushed still, pink dusting his cheeks as he mumbled the answer under his breath.

"Sorry, what was that?" Rhode leaned closer, one of her hands cupping around her ear. "I didn't quite hear that. Could you repeat it?" Allegro repeated what he had said prior, eyes bowed to the floor, a little louder than the time before, but still not much louder. Again, Rhode egged him on to be louder. Again, again, again, until Allegro finally shouted it.

"_**TWELVE THIRTY-FIVE!**_" It was loud enough that Allegro was almost positive that the sound of his voice was most likely resonating off of the strings of the piano downstairs, despite the peddle not being down.

"Exactly!" Rhode crowed, finger jabbing Allegro in the chest, completely unfazed by his bellow. "You, sir, are fifteen minutes _late_!" Never mind the fact that Rhode herself had gotten a late start that morning, and was late herself, and had stood in the doorway of his room for a good ten of those minutes, staring at Allegro, and the last five had been spent playing this little 'game'.

"Alright, alright, I get it, I get it," Allegro sighed, though it was partly a laugh as well. He stood up, raising his hands in surrender. "Just let me get my shoes on, and we can go, okay _Miss Kamelot_?"

He was just teasing, calling her Miss Kamelot like that, but it was alright with all that teasing she had done to him just prior. If anything, it was like a game between Allegro and Rhode. Tease each other and get on each other's nerves on and on and on. The first one to snap lost. There was no clear winner yet, and while both fancied themselves in the lead, it was more of a tie than anything.

"Alright, _Mister Knox,_" She retorted easily, tongue poking out as her eyes squished shut and she made a face at his turned back. "Whatever you say."

"And I do say," Allegro answered absentmindedly, sitting on the edge of his bed as he pulled his shoes on, tying and knotting the laces.

He stood up in one fluent motion, rocking on his heels as he took a moment to stretch his arms before taking point and leading the way out of the room and down the hall to the staircase.

"Rhode," Allegro said over his shoulder, frowning when he got no response. Looking behind to make sure he hadn't lost her [however that would happen, Allegro was uncertain seeing as his (okay, it was Erika's, but, whatever) house was by no means a huge home] but she was still behind him. He stopped, and his frown deepened when Rhode just continued to walk past, as if he hadn't stopped moving at all.

"Oi. Rhode." He called again, and when Allegro didn't receive a response, his hand snaked out and yanked the bobbing ponytail as it whipped past.

"Hey!" Rhode yelped, fingers immediately scrabbling for her scalp, clutching at the back where the base of the ponytail was secured. "What was that for?" She looked around for a moment, trying to figure out where Allegro was, before realizing that he was behind her, and turning accordingly.

"What was that about?" Allegro asked instead, storm clouds meeting resin.

"I asked first!" A whine climbed out of Rhode's throat before she could stop it, and much to her displeasure the whine had absolutely no effect on Allegro. At least not in the way she wanted it to, as she wanted him to show at least some sort of feeling of remorse. Which, of course, didn't happen.

"I wanted your attention," Allegro shrugged, straightening his gloves. "And you were out of it. Hence the hair pulling."

"Well, you have it now," Rhode huffed, turning back around, crossing her arms across her chest. "What do you want?"

"I _was_ going to ask what you had planned for today," He answered, striding up to come up next to Rhode as well as overtake her as he continued the way downstairs. "But seeing as someone's all huffy now, I think I'll just wait and find out, lest I get bitten." Allegro gave a light laugh, and Rhode echoed with a twinkling laugh of her own.

"Who said I was ever gonna tell?" Her bad mood flittered away quicker than it had come and she was as lighthearted as she had been prior to the hair pulling. She skipped ahead of Allegro, flashing a smile towards him.

"Who indeed?" Allegro smiled back, following her down the stairs.

_~~Measure Four~~_

"Now remember," Erika said, standing in the doorway of the house while Rhode and Allegro stood outside side by side right in front of it. "You need to be home no later than six tonight, okay? I don't mind if you want to stay over for supper Rhode, but no later than six."

"We _know_ Erika," Rhode couldn't help but let the half whine burn out of her throat this time. "You tell us this _every_ time, almost." Erika nodded.

"And I'll keep telling you every time," Erika agreed. "I just want to make sure you two are safe, that's all. Now, you're just going to be by the lakeside, right?"

"Right Mom," Allegro shuffled the picnic basket that he had been given to carry a bit, trying to rest it comfortably in the crook of his arm. "We'll be just fine. Nothing bad is going to happen." A silent look was given over to Rhode who nodded her assent.

"Yup!" She agreed, hooking her arm around Allegro's free one. "Don't worry about a thing! Your little guy is going to be just fine with me! I'll protect him with my life!" Her right hand came up to rest stiffly by her brow in a mock form of some sort of military salute.

Erika laughed and mirrored Rhode's salute with her left in a salute of her own.

"Alright then Captain Rhode." Erika smiled. "I'm trusting my little cadet with you, so you better not lose him, got it?"

"Ma'am, yes Ma'am!" Rhode responded with the straightest face she could manage before dissolving into laughter.

"Then get out of here you two," Erika was stifling giggles of her own. "I've kept you two long enough."

"See you later then!" Rhode called cheerfully, immediately dragging Allegro off by his arm.

Erika just chuckled to herself at Rhode's eagerness before disappearing back into the house. Rhode and Allegro continued down the path, disappearing themselves down one of the side paths through the forest that led down to the usual part of the lakeside that they spent their time at.

"So it's a picnic today," Allegro hummed, finally walking under his own power once Rhode finally released his arm from his grip. He reached back with his free hand, tousling his hair. "Do you have anything else planned afterwards?"

"Maybe~!" Rhode trilled, spinning her way down the path, dancing from shadow to shadow as if touching the light would burn her. Allegro just laughed, and kept going down the path, taking no care to avoid shadow or light, unlike his partner's twirling moves.

"C'mon Allegro!" Rhode laughed. "You do it too!"

"Oh? Do what?" Allegro poked. "I am walking, if that is what you want."

"No silly!" Rhode pouted. "Don't just take the straight and narrow path! Make up some path for you to follow! Jump from shadow to shadow with me!"

Allegro hesitated for a moment, thinking it over. He looked down, studying his spot on the ground for barely even a moment before he made his decision. With a very deliberate jump up and to the side, he moved across to the patch of sunlight that rested directly across from Rhode's current position.

"Boo!" Rhode stuck her tongue out at Allegro. "That's no fun!"

"What are you talking about?" Allegro mirrored her face right back to her. "I think your face is pretty funny right now."

"Hey!" Rhode lunged for Allegro playfully, and he ducked out of her way.

"Ah-ah-ah," He clucked, grinning, pointing down to her feet. "Stand in the sunlight and you lose." And before Rhode could complain, he took a leap, landing in another patch of sunlight in front of Rhode.

"First one out of the forest wins!" He goaded with a smirk over his shoulder before taking another jump.

"No fair!" Rhode stomped her foot, before taking chase, calling after Allegro,

"If I'm not allowed in the sunlight, then you aren't allowed in the shadows, jerk!"

Her only answer was laugh.

_~~Measure Five~~_

The last drag was taken off of the cigarette, before it was dropped to the ground. The flame from the ash smoldered for a moment as if it were attempting to burn the scarce grass underneath it, but that plan was thwarted with the boot that came crunching down on it. The cigarette was ground into the dirt below, one last cloud of smoke puffing into the air, before floating away.

He pushed himself into a fully standing position, stretching a moment after leaning against the tree for so long. The sound of children's laughter was still echoing in his ears even though the two had come and gone. He hadn't gotten a good look at the children from where he was standing, but it didn't matter because they couldn't see him, which was a good thing. That, and he could tell just by the voices.

The light tenor that had passed by was definitely who he was waiting for. The alto that had danced by was troublesome and a slight kink in his plans, but he could manage. He always pulled off the impossible and made it possible.

After all, his name wasn't Cross Marian for nothing.

And today was the day that he would definitely collect what he had long waited for.

Today was the day he'd finally get Allen Walker.

_**~~Allegro's Crescendo~~**_

And that ends the twelfth movement. If you remember back to how the first part seemed slow with the action and even then, didn't have much of it, don't worry. This piece of the 'song' should have a lot more action, and be much quicker paced.

I also have decided that this is going to be a 'three piece' story. The first piece was the first eleven chapters, and was pretty much background stuff (not that there isn't going to be more background information to be had, of course), this second piece is probably going to be around ten or so as well, depending on how things move along, and this is going to be the 'crescendo' part of the story. Not much else I can say about it that won't ruin my plans. And then the third part is, obviously, the end, and I can't say much about that either, seeing as it is the _end_ of the story.

But anyways, enough with boring explanations!

Here's next week's preview~!

_**Allegro's Crescendo: Pizzicato**_

_He had made that promise all those years ago, but there was a darker side of him nagging at him. Asking how he could ruin a kids' happiness out of selfishness. Saying yes, he made a promise- he made plenty of promises back then. But he already broke some of those promises. What would it matter if he broke one more?_

Until next time, my lovely readers~! ^_^

Read and Review, and if there is any confusion, don't hesitate to ask any questions~!

~~Paw-Chan Signing Out~~


	13. Pizzicato

Is it actually possible? An update when there is supposed to be one? No, it can't be! But, but, it is! That's right, no stalls because of writers block, or anything else! Okay, so there was a Spanish project that I almost didn't get done in time, but that doesn't count.

Anyways, this is the thirteenth movement of _Allegro's Crescendo._

**Disclaimer: I do not own D,Gray-Man**

_**Allegro's Crescendo**_

_Allen was never found by Cross after attempting to bring Mana back. Neither did the Millennium Earl or the Noah's take him in. No, a third party found young Allen instead, and from that day on, he wasn't 'Allen' anymore. Instead, the Destroyer of Time gained a new name. That name was…_

**The Thirteenth Movement: Pizzicato**

"It's such a clear day," Rhode sighed in admiration, spinning in a wide circle with her arms out, before flopping down on her back on the sand-dirt mixture that made up the lake's beach. "Makes me just wanna take a nap."

To emphasize her statement, Rhode linked her arms behind her head, knees sliding up. She propped her ankle against the opposite knee, her skirt flaring up dangerously high that would have made more modest women scandalized (after, of course, they got over how short the skirt was to begin with.) Her eyes slid closed and she basked in the glow of the sun while Allegro all but dropped the basket on the ground.

"Sure, sure, make me do all the work," Allegro huffed, voice light in contrast to his actions as his hands settled themselves on his hips in a disapproving manner. "I see how you are, Rhode. What a kind friend you make."

"Anytime," Rhode cackled, rolling over, and kicking her feet into the air, propping her elbows on the sand and settling her chin upon her interlaced fingers. "Anytime."

_~~Plucking, like a String Bass~~_

He stood at the edge of the tree line, staring down the beach at the two. Staring down at the happy expression the boy held on his face. He had made that promise all those years ago, but there was a darker side of him nagging at him. Asking how he could ruin a kids' happiness out of selfishness. Saying yes, he made a promise- he made plenty of promises back then. But he already broke some of those promises. What would it matter if he broke one more?

But no, he didn't have a choice now. Right now promises didn't matter. Kid or not, that didn't matter as well. What mattered currently was the safety of the world right, as well as the capability of turning the tides of this war. And that wasn't able to happen if he didn't have the key person to changing the tide.

Key. Ha. He smirked at himself at the small pun.

Still, pun aside, this was no joking matter. This was his last shot at getting the brat and still making the deadline, so he couldn't screw up now.

He needed him. He needed the-

_~~Thudding, like a steady Heart Beat~~_

"Hmm?" Rhode hummed, pulling a cloth wrapped item out of the basket. She had finally pulled herself up and was helping Allegro to finish the set up of their picnic. "What's this?" She didn't recognize it, and that wasn't necessarily a good thing. Rhode had packed the basket completely by herself, dodging questions and inquiries narrowly when harassed by Tyki. She _had_ left the basket alone in the kitchen back at the house, but that was only for barely even a minute. Not enough time for Jasdero or Debitto to mess with it, surely… They were quick, but not_ that_ quick.

"How should I know," Allegro responded, pulling some of the other items out of the basket. "You're the one that packed this, not me."

"_Really -, how can I give any answers I don't know the questions?"_

"R-Right," Rhode stumbled, shaking her head to get rid of the voice. Her bangs bounced, dropping into her field of vision. Like this, she could only _partially_ see Allegro, and if that happened, theoretically, she shouldn't be able to hear-

"Is everything okay Rhode?" Allegro's voice cut through her thoughts.

"Yeah," Rhode answered, a bright smile managing to appear on her face. She closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side, in an attempt to convince Allegro that everything that was okay. If she acted like she normally did around him, it should do the trick. "I just don't remember putting this in the basket when I was getting stuff around this morning."

"Did you leave it setting around this morning?" Allegro suggested. "Maybe one of your family members put it in."

"Nah," Rhode shook her head in disagreement. "I didn't leave it alone at home; you can't really trust my family. They're known for causing trouble."

"Then are you certain you didn't put it in here?" Allegro asked, frowning. "You aren't pulling my leg, are you Rhode? That isn't nice, if you are."

"I'm not," Rhode scowled, punching Allegro in the arm. Allegro blinked, acting as if the hit hadn't even fazed him. Which, knowing her luck, it probably hadn't. Her friend was weird like that. Besides, she hadn't left the basket alone, at all- at least, not until… Oh.

"I left it alone at your house, idiot," This time Rhode pushed Allegro over completely, eliciting a scowl from the other teen as he picked himself up off the ground, brushing sand off himself. "Your mom must have put that in here."

"What?" Allegro blinked. "No way- she wouldn't meddle like that."

"_What are you talking about, -? - would never do something like that. Stop lying, it's very unbecoming."_

"Wait, never mind." Allegro shook his head. "That sounds exactly like something she would do. Carry on." He waved his hand at her, motioning her to open the item. Rhode blinked, looked down at the cloth wrapped object, and then at Allegro, then back at the item, and then back at Allegro, just for good measure. Following what was previously stated, she immediately pushed the object towards Allegro.

"You open it." Allegro did his own version of the blink, look, look, blink, before pushing the object back towards Rhode.

"No, you open it."

"I insist."

"As a gentleman, I must insist the lady open the package."

"Alright, whenever you're ready, _lady._"

"Hey, that wasn't nice!"

"Do I look like I care?"

"You open it!"

"I said no!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"For God's sake, _I said-"_

"_Just listen to me for once, and stop acting like an immature, spoiled rotten-!"_

But whatever Rhode was going to snap at Allegro was cut off, as a humongous wave reared up from the lake, crashing over both the beach and the two as it slammed back down to the ground.

The two spluttered, curses and garbled words falling from their lips as they tried to make heads and tails of what exactly just happened. Over all their flailing, however, a new noise overcame the din they themselves were causing. A noise that didn't belong. A noise that was both human and inhuman. A noise the both recognized, one from nightmares, the other from dealing with on a pretty much daily basis.

A cackle.

A cackle of a(n)-

_~~Pizzicato~~_

He was standing at the tree line when it appeared. He had just broached the forest, staring down at the pair, trying to determine the best way to separate the two when the answer came, with the most impeccable timing.

Alright, so, maybe it wasn't exactly necessarily a _good_ thing, what appeared, but, hey, it was better than nothing.

"Well, well, well," He smirked, his practically fresh cigarette dropping to the ground as he crushed it underfoot. He reached into his pocket, pulling out his weapon.

"I guess it's time to get this show on the road."

_~~Pizzicato~~_

"_Ahahahaha!"_ The… _thing_ cackled. "_Puny humans!"_ Allegro winced as he and Rhode scrambled to their feet, grasping a hand over his left eye. It was _burning_.

"Gah!" Allegro yelped, dropping to his knees. A sharp, painful throbbing started echoing up and down his left arm.

"Allegro?" Rhode finally tore her eyes away from the monster, dropping to her knees herself in order to kneel by Allegro. "Are you okay Allegro?"

"Y-Yeah," He gritted out through clenched teeth, squeezing his left eye shut tightly. "I'm just fine. It's nothing." Rhode nodded before standing, and grabbing one of Allegro's arms and helping him up.

"You need to get out of here," Rhode urged Allegro, even more so after witnessing the blood that was starting to drip down from the corner of his left eye. "It's not safe. Trust me, you-"

"Yes, I agree completely Rhode." Allegro managed to disentangle himself from the other.

"Great, I'll distract it while you-"

"_You_ need to get out of here." Allegro interjected.

"What?" Rhode was shocked. _She_ needed to leave? What about Allegro? She would be fine; the Akuma wouldn't even _dare_ trying to attack her, but Allegro? He'd be dead before he could even blink if he didn't leave _right now._ "No. I'm not going to leave. You can't make me Allegro. You _cannot make me_!"

"_You can't make me do anything! You aren't the boss of me! Don't try and control me, like everybody else!"_

"I _can_ and _will_." Allegro's voice was uncharacteristically cold. "Trust me Rhode; you don't want to be dealing with these things."

"You trust me, Allegro, you stupid boy!" Rhode stamped her foot down on the ground. "You don't want to be fighting this- ahh!"

The two were separated as the Akuma evidently got sick and tired of their bickering, firing off a missile in the middle of them.

"Allegro!" Rhode shouted. She couldn't see him; there was too much dust in the way.

"Go, Rhode! Run!" She could hear his voice, a distance away. "Get to the forest! I'll meet you at the clearing!"

"I'm not leaving you!" She could call off the Akuma. She could stop it and save him. She could do what she could not so many times before and save him.

"_I_ said, _leave_ Rhode! _I_ can _handle _this _by_ myself!"

Tears were starting to pour down her cheeks. She grasped her head in both hands as it throbbed, not able to tell what was really being said and what she was hearing, or if they were the same.

"I can't!" She screamed back, a shriek ripping from her throat as the Akuma fired off another missile.

"_You _can _and_ will! _I'm_ not _going_ to _let_ you _get _hurt!"

"Fine!" She relented, only because the throbbing was getting unbearable, and she knew that if she didn't concede, Allegro really _would_ die. "But if you aren't in the clearing in half an hour, I'm coming back for you, whether you like it or not!"

Rhode turned and ran off, not waiting to hear Allegro's response.

But a memory from the past still rang through, resounding and echoing the same thing that Allegro said at that instant.

"_I _p_r_o_m_i_s_e _t_h_a_t _I _w_i_l_l _b_e_ t_h_e_r_e. _I _w_o_n'_t_ l_e_a_v_e _y_o_u _a_l_o_n_e."

_Not again._

_**~~Allegro's Crescendo~~**_

And that ends Chapter 13. A bit short, yes, but better than nothing, right? Probably a bit confusing too, but that will get cleared up in time. Maybe. You hope so. Mwuhahahaha. *Coughs* Ahem. Anyways.

Next time on

**Allegro's Crescendo: Alla Marcia**

_"You ignorant little brat. My name is Cross Marian. You, however, may feel free to call me 'Master'."_**  
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_"Um. Right. 'Master'. You do realize it's a little rude to keep people captive against their will?"_

_"Rule number one! Don't talk back to me."_

_"Wha-? Rules?"_

_"Rule number two! You aren't allowed to speak. Ugly people like you have no right to be speaking with beautiful people like myself."_

Until next week, read and review and tell me what you think~! ^_^

~~Paw-Chan Signing Out~~


	14. Alla Marcia

No, you aren't hallucinating. This is an on time post. I'm sorry about the wait; I'm going to work my hardest so you get two more consecutive updates because I'm away from the computer for pretty much all of July. I'm going out of the country, and I won't be able to update (I'll still try and write though.)

I also apologize for the shortness of this chapter- it's not nearly as long as I wanted it. Still, short update is better than no update, right?

Also! I was asked some questions that I'm going to clear up right now. (If you didn't ask a question, it's okay if you skip these, unless there's something you're unsure about and want to read through to see if I cleared it up.)

First! There _was_ a time-skip back between Chapter 11 and 12. Five years, to be exact- hence the 'Five Measures Rest' title. Meaning, Allegro is now 15 instead of about 10.

Rhode is of an appearance of 16 years now, instead of still being 11, because of Allegro. She wanted to be friends with Allegro, and didn't want to tell him of her being a Noah. Seeing as she is the Noah of Dreams and is able to control her appearance, she made herself appear as if she was gradually aging the past five years with Allegro. Rhode was a big reason why there was such a long wait between Chapter 11 and 12; I couldn't figure out if I wanted her to still have short hair or make it long. Obviously, I went with the long hair.

Second! This isn't really related to the story, but I was informed I should change Chapter 2's title because of mispronunciation of it. I will not; actually if you have been pronouncing it as 'Retard' instead of 'Rih-tard' congratulations. You have been introduced to a band joke if you aren't in band.

Third! The reason why Rhode did nothing to the Akuma/the Akuma did not notice her will be explained fully in later chapters.

Fourth! Pairing question. I have pairings more or less decided, but, because I'm a mean person, I'm not telling until they are revealed through the natural course of the story.

Fifth! Will Allegro/Allen be on the Earl's side rather the Order's? This was paired with the above question, which was asking if the pairing was RhodexAllen. And again, this is a question that will be answered in due time, through the natural course of the story. However, if you desperately want the answers to these questions, I would suggest going back and taking a closer look at a few past chapters. ;)

Anyways, let the fourteenth movement begin.

**Disclaimer: After 14 Chapters, I still do not own D,Gray-Man.**

_**Allegro's Crescendo**_

_Allen was never found by Cross after attempting to bring Mana back. Neither did the Millennium Earl or the Noah's take him in. No, a third party found young Allen instead, and from that day on, he wasn't 'Allen' anymore. Instead, the Destroyer of Time gained a new name. That name was…_

**The Fourteenth Movement: Alla Marcia**

As the dust settled around him, Allegro blinked the blood away from his eye. A familiar click and gear-like whirring filled the air as his left eye turned from the normal stormy grey to black and red bulls-eye. The color of the world shifted, turning completely monochrome. And then, he saw it.

It was here on this one as well, as it had been many other times on monsters similar to this one he had encountered before in the past. Really, he shouldn't have expected any different from this one.

He wasn't quite sure what 'it' was. Allegro had been seeing these monsters for the past five years, and he still wasn't quite sure what the thing he saw coming off of them was.

Whatever 'it' was, it was extremely creepy. It had given him nightmares for weeks the first time he had really seen it; he hadn't been able to have a good night's rest for around three months. It had been hell for both him and Erika, who had stayed up pretty much every night with him during that time period.

Anyways, what 'it' was, was what seemed to be a mummified corpse jutting out of the… hip[?] of the monster, with a look of absolute despair and anguish permanently locked onto its [as in, the corpse, not the actual monster] face. That wasn't the scariest part though; what Allegro later went on to find out after his first encounter was that he could actually hear them _speak._ Like, obviously not the monster, because everybody could hear them, but the corpse-like things.

He could actually _hear_ them speak. And what was worse, was that they were always crying out for help, for someone to save them, for _Allegro_ to save them. It was very frightening, especially when you were the only one able to both see _and_ hear the corpses hanging off the monsters, the only one with the capability of doing something about it.

"Good day Miss," Allegro addressed the corpse attached to the monster calmly as a familiar green light coiled its way up his arm. Allegro never knew the stories behind the people who made up the monsters, and he never asked. The cadavers barely spoke anything past 'Help Me' and 'Forgive Me', and the monsters the piloted the body were hardly in the mood to talk. Their own conversations ranged from mindless demands for something called 'Innocence' (which Allegro presumed to be reference to his deformed arm) and petty name-calling and banter that he assumed was meant to rile him up.

He lifted his arm up, crossing it in front of him. This was part of the reason why he had insisted that Rhode leave; she would undoubtedly be frightened by the appearance of what his arm had become, as well as what it looked like prior to the transformation. Allegro had never shown his deformity to his best friend; not out of insecurity, but more so from the fact that he had never had the desire to show her. Their friendship was fine as it was, why would he need to show her a fire ant red, scaly arm with fingernails blacker than coal?

And then, it was a matter of what his arm looked after the transformation at the hands of his Innocence, if that was what it was really called. A metal arm, nearly twice Allegro's own body size. Yet, despite what one would think, it wasn't all that overly heavy; he was able to manipulate the arm with ease, and what used to be fingernails were now deadly sharp claws that were perfect for cutting through the weaker caste of monsters that he came across from time to time.

Not that Allegro came across these monsters all the time in the sleepy village his mother and caretaker came to five years ago. In the beginning, there had been quite a few, and they had made for good practice in the middle of the night until Erika had found out what he had been doing, through a handful of poorly concealed bruises and an obvious amount of lack of sleep. But it had been worth at the time, in order to escape the land of nightmares that he would have otherwise would have had to face- that he had had to face, nights when he hadn't been able to leave the house.

It was during this time period that he had discovered just what exactly his eye had been transformed into, what he could see and hear because of it, that others could not see. As well as other certain… _attributes_, we'll say, that he uncovered.

But, alas, that is a tale for another time. For now, we shall return to the matter at hand…

_~~Like a march~~_

The battle seemed too quick for its own good. Not that Allegro minded; he actually wanted it to be over quicker. He didn't want to leave Rhode on her own for too long- who knew what sort of trouble she would get herself into, left alone? But the strange part of the battle was that he didn't even touch the monster before the thing exploded. The monster lunged at him, Allegro dodged, spinning out of the way, and the next thing he knew, turning back to face it, the monster was exploding into dust right in front of him.

"What?" Allegro breathed, eye whirring furiously as he tried to figure out just what exactly had happened. Something like this had only happened once before, with the monster spontaneously exploding before his eyes. The sight of what happened to the corpse attached to the monster was terrifying. Usually, when Allegro destroyed the monster, it looked as if there were chains being removed from the corpse, setting the soul free from what kept it tethered to Earth. However, that one time when the monster spontaneously destroyed itself, instead of the soul being set free, it just… imploded, if that made sense. It destroyed itself. Instead of being freed from the shackles binding it to their puppeteer, the soul was killed alongside the monster.

The sight had been horrifying, and Allegro hadn't been able to handle it. He barely remembered what happened that day, let alone most of that following week because of the sight he had beheld.

But, studying the scene before him, it seemed that this wasn't the same as that horrible day years ago. No, he was able to catch a glimpse of the soul being released, so he knew that whatever had destroyed the monster was something that had to be _slightly_ similar to the powers his arm had. What though? What could have possibly have killed the monster and not the soul as well?

Allegro got his answer in a man with flaming red hair walking out of the dust stirred up from the defeat of the monster. Twirling a silver and gold handgun, followed by a bird-like object flying behind him, Allegro would swear that the man was familiar, with the pale white mask hiding half his face from the rest of the world. He'd swear that he knew him from somewhere, anywhere, not just those dark days from _that _time. That- dare he say it -they had been something akin to _friends._

_Little did Allegro know…_

"Hello brat!" The man's voice was arrogant, and it took only a second for Allegro to decide that, despite this strange familiarity he was feeling, he didn't like whoever this person was.

…_that once upon a time…_

"My name is Cross Marian, but you may call me 'Master'!"

…_He would've been __**right**__._

_**~~Allegro's Crescendo~~**_

Yeah... As mentioned before, short update is short. I wanted to put in a scene with Rhode or Erika, but the ending part sort of ruined that idea... Next chapter, perhaps.

I _will_ see you guys next week, because I am determined to update even if it is a short little chapter like this one.

I don't have a preview for next chapter, but I can tell you some upcoming content. You'll get Rhode and Erika within the next chapter or two, as well as a glimpse into the life of the Order.

I will put out now as well- I know in some stories where Allen doesn't go directly to the Order that the author adds some OC to fill his space in missions and normal story line stuff. In this though, that's not going to happen. Erika is the only major OC in this, and for the missions that Allen was a part of in canon (like Lala, Rewinding Town) will either be solo and not touched except perhaps in a brief flashback (Lala) or replaced with a new partner and rewritten to fit this story line.

Thanks for reading, and please review~!

~~Paw-Chan Signing Out~~


	15. Mezzo Piano

Hey~! Here's the newest update, bringing with it more mystery and confusion with it. It's a bit longer than last chapter, so that's good.

There's not really much to say before hand this time...

So, without any further prolongation- the Fifteenth Movement; Mezzo-Piano.

**Disclaimer: I don't own D,Gray-Man.**

_**Allegro's Crescendo**_

_Allen was never found by Cross after attempting to bring Mana back. Neither did the Millennium Earl or the Noah's take him in. No, a third party found young Allen instead, and from that day on, he wasn't 'Allen' anymore. Instead, the Destroyer of Time gained a new name. That name was…_

**The Fifteenth Movement: Mezzo-Piano**

It was a quiet afternoon in the house with Allegro gone. Erika sighed, shutting her eyes as she leaned against the kitchen counter, drinking in the quiet. Now, it wasn't to say that she hadn't had many peaceful afternoons before, but it had been a while since the last one. She put the dish in her hands away, wiping them off with a towel before setting it down and wandering over to the window.

It was a nice window- rather big, -and it spanned almost the whole countertop. It overlooked the hill that led down to the lake as well as a good portion of the lake itself. The day itself was rather nice, perfect for swimming if Allegro and Rhode decided to do such. Those two…

Well, there were no words for Erika to describe them. They were like puzzle pieces that were perfect matches.

Their friendship reminded Erika of her own from back when she was their age…

"_Don't leave me behind, you jerk!"_

"_It's not leaving you behind when you weren't coming in the first place, stupid!"_

…But that was a reminiscence that needed to take place at a later date.

At any rate, she should move from the kitchen- to the living room, maybe? Erika needed to get some more cleaning done, and the living room seemed like a good place to start… She could work her way around the entire first floor until she made it upstairs. Her bedroom was fine, but maybe she could get away cleaning Allegro's? He didn't care much when she tried cleaning it, but honestly, her attempts at straightening up left it a little better than allowing it to be the mess he normally left it.

Erika cast one last look down towards the lake thinking maybe she could catch a glimpse of Allegro and Rhode down on the lake side. Erika was just about to turn away when she noticed something. It wasn't much, not really out of the ordinary, but as she looked, the waves were looking a bit fierce for such a nice day as this…

She dragged her eyes across the lake and along the shoreline- where was Allegro? She didn't know why, but there was some sort of maternal instinct telling her that she needed to find him, to know where he was and make sure that he was okay. Erika couldn't explain _why_ exactly she was feeling it, just that she needed to assuage the feeling and stamp it down, prove that she was worrying for naught.

Looking down the shoreline, she could see down the way a cloud of dust rising. Her heart clenched, twisting painfully in her chest. That… That was where she had last seen Allegro.

_That was where Allegro was._

She didn't breathe- she couldn't. Erika moved, reacting solely on impulse, treading through the house more like a ghost than a real person. Something was telling her what was really going on down there, and while she wanted more than anything to ignore it, Erika knew that it was right.

She mindlessly opened the lock box, strapping its contents to her person before striding purposefully out of the house, avoiding the forest path and hurrying down to the lake.

She couldn't be late, she just couldn't. She couldn't let anything happen to Allegro. Erika could not. There was no way that she was going to lose him. Not him too.

She had to keep Allegro from harm, she just _had_ to…

_~~Softly, but not too soft~~_

Pacing. That's all she could do. Pace. Pace and wait for Allegro. Wait and hope that he wasn't going to wind up killing himself. The _stupid_ human! Rhode chewed on her thumb, growling softly to herself.

"That idiot!" Rhode shouted, frustrated, kicking the nearest tree. The leaves on the tree rustled, and a few acorns dropped from it, pegging Rhode on the head. She yelped, leaping back.

"You're gonna get yourself killed!" She was raging to herself as she had no idiot (i/e: Allegro) to snap at. "Oh, I can't believe I let you stay behind by yourself."

But she could.

Because of _him_- because of the voice she always heard when she was around Allegro, -and because of her memory of _that_ day.

_That_ day wasn't a pleasant day. It was a very dark day in Rhode's very long life, and she didn't want to repeat it. It was one day of very few where she regretted choices she made and she wished she hadn't caused the pain that she had.

_**This is an order. Self-Destruct.**_

_**B-but Mistress-!**_

_**No buts. Self-Destruct.**_

_Screaming. The anguished sort of screaming that Rhode normally relished in hearing. But this time, she didn't enjoy it. No. This screaming terrified_ her_, worrying her and causing her guilt. She caused that screaming. She caused his pain. And all because__** she was trying to help.**_

Rhode shook her head, curling her fingernails into her temples. She did not need this right now. What Rhode needed was a clear head, and she wasn't going to get that if she spent her time worrying over what she couldn't help.

What Rhode _did_ need to worry about was the situation with the Akuma. She highly doubted Allegro would be able to deal with it, not with him being a mere human and not having- she cringed at the thought –_Innocence._

Rhode could try and help once more, but she knew what her help had done before. She had caused pain and suffering. But this time… This time she could do it differently. She had the ability, she could control the Akuma. Rhode could send it someplace else, not destroy it…

Nodding to herself, Rhode made the decision.

She was going to head back to the beach.

She was going to help Allegro.

Whether he liked it or not.

_~~Mezzo-Piano~~_

The beach was empty.

Empty.

The picnic basket was lying on its side, and the items that had been set out for the lunch- _uneaten, obviously uneaten, they were attacked before anything could be done_ -were lying unattended surrounding the area. It looked like a warzone, and Erika could feel something within her starting to snap.

"A-Allegro?" Erika called out, hesitant, not sure whether or not she wanted an answer. Not sure if she wanted to know the answer. "Allegro, a-are you here?"

There was no answer. Her mind feared the worst as she dropped down to her knees next to the mutilated blanket.

"_-, are you there?"_

"_C'mon now, this isn't funny!"_

"_You're gonna get in trouble if you keep this u-aahhh!"_

Behind Erika, she could faintly hear the sound of something reassembling. The sound of whirring, and something clicking into place, and then the sound of… _flapping?_

No, that couldn't be right- could it? Erika turned her head slowly, looking behind her. She jumped, whirring fully round until she was on her butt instead of her knees, her hands supporting her weight as she stared at what had suddenly appeared on the beach.

It was a golden bird-like object, floating in front of her. Actually, it looked… quite familiar, though she wasn't quite sure from where… Wait. She did remember. It was that thing that belonged to _that_ man, from five years ago.

It belonged to that Cross Marian, from The Order.

Did that mean…?

The object floated there in front of her, as if it were staring at her, flapping its wings gently. Erika reached out her hand, as if she was going to touch it, when the thing smiled, revealing a mouth full of razor sharp teeth out of nowhere.

"What the hell?" Erika yelped, jerking her hand back.

The… whatever it was, it opened its mouth and after a moment's pause, a figure popped up from the center, projected somehow.

"_If you're watching this, that means either Timcampy has managed to find you, or you have managed to find Timcampy."_ It was a calm tone that he was speaking with, but Erika could feel a fiery pit of anger and fury welling up. He cleared his throat, masking it as a half-cough, covering his mouth with a hand before returning it behind his back once more.

"_This message is to inform you that your time with Allen- or whatever the hell name you've been calling him for the past five years -is up. If you value your life at all, you won't bother trying to come after us. Whether you realize it or not, you can't be around Allen any longer. By the time you receive this message we will already be on our way out of the country. My advice is for you to return home and forget about Allen. Forget about ever taking him in and go on with your life. No good will come out of it if you-"_

_***Bang***_

_~~Mezzo-Piano~~_

The beach was as silent as a grave. No Akuma laughter, no subtle snickering of Allegro trying to scare her, nothing. Just the sound of waves crashing gently across the shoreline.

No. It couldn't be. Allegro couldn't be _gone,_ could he? It couldn't be possible. It just couldn't be. That Akuma just couldn't have killed him- there was no way.

"Damnit!" She cursed, kicking over the picnic basket still lying innocently on the beach. Rhode covered her face with her hands, resisting strongly the urge to simply let loose and _scream._

But she couldn't. She wouldn't. Rhode had to stay strong.

"_Noah."_

A voice spoke from behind her. A voice so irritatingly familiar that Rhode couldn't but help the knee jerk reaction it caused. She whirled around, form shifting instantly to the one she favored around family and enemies. A jump back landed her floating midair, and the wave of one hand summoned up her candles.

"_Rhode."_

It wasn't even the man himself. Rhode felt her blood boiling as she stared at that infuriating golem projecting the hologram of _that_ man. He had been smoking a cigarette while the golem made the recording, and the faux smoke drifted lazily across the hologram as he spoke. The nonchalance that he gave the message with irked Rhode to no end.

"_This is your first and only warning."_ He tapped ash from the cigarette end. _"Leave that little boy-toy of yours alone. Personally, I don't give a damn as to why a Noah like you was hanging around someone like him. But know this:"_ He dropped the cigarette to the ground.

"_You keep up your friendship and you'll regret it."_ His tone held a sort of finality to it. _"You have no reason to take advice from an enemy, but I honestly I don't care. Your friendship with that kid will only end in disaster. Cut ties now and leave the kid be, and maybe you'll live a bit longer. But don't, and-"_

Rhode wouldn't take any more. She wouldn't listen to that _bastard_ try and order her around like some equal. She was Rhode Kamelot-

She flexed her hand just a tad, the silent command for her candles to move.

-and she didn't take orders from_ anybody_ but herself, and Lord Millennium.

With one sweep, she turned herself about, summoning up a door and stalking through it.

So an Exorcist had Allegro? Well, that just meant Rhode had more of a reason to be ruthless to any and all that she met.

Rhode lost him once before- she wasn't about to lose him again. She'd do whatever it took to exact revenge against the Order, and get her friend back.

_Whatever_ it took.

And with that, the doors swung shut behind her, as she disappeared into her own realm.

Leaving behind the mutilated shoreline and destroyed golem, not caring of any repercussions her actions could have.

"_Now, now. We just _must_ work on that temper of yours, mustn't we dear?"_

_**~~Allegro's Crescendo~~**_

So more secrets and the plot starts to thicken. And to clear up [some] confusion before it arises: Rhode is basing her assumption that Cross has Allegro on the fact that he left that message for her, while Erika knows because he outright told her. Why did Cross leave the messages? Well, that, my dear readers, will reveal itself in due time.

Thanks for reading, and please review~!

Oh, and also, there is cover art coming up for this! I have it drawn and everything, I just need to figure out how to work my scanner and get it turned to a file that's anything but a pdf... '-.-

~~Paw-Chan Signing Out~~


	16. Theme and Variation

Okay, I apologize right now for the extreme shortness of this chapter. Also for the fact that this is mostly a filler chapter. I had some minor writers block while writing this, but I have everything figured out. Because of it, it means some changes, but it doesn't affect the plot very much... This will be explained further with the ending note, so don't worry too much right now.

For now, just enjoy the Sixteenth Movement.

**Disclaimer: I still don't own D,Gray-Man. **

_**Allegro's Crescendo**_

_Allen was never found by Cross after attempting to bring Mana back. Neither did the Millennium Earl or the Noah's take him in. No, a third party found young Allen instead, and from that day on, he wasn't 'Allen' anymore. Instead, the Destroyer of Time gained a new name. That name was…_

**The Sixteenth Movement: Theme and Variation**

"I'm sending you with Kanda, Lena," Komui's voice drifted Lenalee out of the slight trance she had settled into while attempting to pick up and organize some of her brother's scattered paperwork.

"What?" Why with Kanda? Lenalee was assuming that Komui was talking about a mission, but she didn't quite understand. Kanda wasn't some rookie Exorcist. He could handle himself in the field, so why did Lenalee need to go?

"The next mission," Komui repeated, "I'm sending you along with Kanda. I don't mean to sound like a mother hen, or like Tiedoll, but I am worried about him." But Kanda… He was one of the only ones in The Order that they _didn't_ need to worry about; dedicated as he was, Kanda always came back from missions successful- _always_ -(except for that one mission five years ago, but that wasn't brought up, that was never brought up) with minimum injuries, if he was even wounded.

"Alright Brother," Lenalee agreed, setting the paperwork on her brother's desk. It was a mission assignment, and she wasn't about to go against it. She knew the pain of disobeying The Order, and, while the supervisor was her brother now, she still didn't want to go against an order.

"If you go get Kanda now, I can give you the mission specs and you two can be on your way," Komui added. The sooner the mission was done, the sooner Lenalee would be home- Lenalee knew that that was the train of thought Komui was using.

Lenalee nodded, departing the office to locate Kanda. Not that it would be extremely difficult as he'd be in one of three places- the cafeteria, the training hall, or his bedroom. Seeing as it wasn't close to a meal time, he wouldn't be in the cafeteria. Lenalee had a fifty-fifty shot of guessing accurately where Kanda was.

Lenalee took the left fork at the divide in paths in the hall, headed for the training hall.

_~~Take a song and change the speed or key~~_

He hadn't been in the training hall. He hadn't been in his bedroom. Kanda hadn't even had been in the cafeteria when she checked. To be honest, Lenalee was just a smidge worried. Where could Kanda be? The terrain outside wasn't very beneficial for his sort of training, and she knew that he wasn't out on a mission.

It was a bit of a stretch, but Lenalee was near the infirmary. Maybe Kanda was in there? It was highly improbable, but not impossible. She might as well check- if she was wrong, she was wrong, and that was that. No harm done.

"Matron?" Lenalee made sure to keep her voice low as she entered the infirmary. She wasn't sure if anyone was in, but Lenalee knew that the Matron enforced the same rules as a library. Said it was better for the patients if they had a quiet environment to rest and recover in. (Lenalee knew though that whenever Lavi or herself were in the infirmary it got twice, if not three times, as loud as it usually was because of the… _nature_ of their visitors (and in Lavi's case, his personality as well).)

"Lenalee?" Lenalee jumped at the sound of her name, surprised for some reason. She turned towards the source, and was greeted to a slightly confused look. "Is everything alright?"

It unfortunately wasn't Kanda; it was Lavi.

"Yeah, I'm fine Lavi," Lenalee shook her head as if it would assist in stilling the rapid beating of her heart. "I've been looking for Kanda- have you seen him?"

"Yuu?" Lavi had a weird habit of always using Kanda's first name, and Lenalee didn't know why. It made Kanda so upset whenever anyone called him by his first name, and he made no exceptions, and he beat on Lavi practically a daily basis because of Lavi's use of his first name. (Lenalee wasn't quite sure, but she thought it was a cultural reason as to why Kanda didn't appreciate anybody using his first name. But hey, she could be wrong.) "Actually, yeah- I have. You just missed him."

"What?" Oh, she couldn't have just missed him! "Did you see where he went?"

"No," Lavi answered a bit hesitantly. "But I think he said he was going back to Komui's office… Why? Are you having a secret relationship with him? Don't worry, I won't tell your brother. Yuu deserves to live a little longer."

"Thanks- wait, what?" Lenalee couldn't believe what she just heard Lavi say. "No! I'm not in any sort of relationship with Kanda, Lavi! I can't believe you'd say something like that!" Actually, she could, but still! What if that somehow got back to her brother? That would spell trouble for Kanda… Okay, more for her brother, but she didn't want anything to happen to either of them!

"Heheh, whatever you say Lena~" Lavi grinned cheekily, before going pass her, leaving the infirmary. "See you later!" He left with a wave, disappearing down the hall.

Lenalee just shook her head in some vague form of disappointment before turning herself around and heading back to her brother's office. If he had any sense (which was a stretch, despite his genius) he'd keep Kanda _there_ and wait for Lenalee to come.

But, that was if he had any sense.

Which was still up for debate, in some parts of The Order.

(Lenalee was for the fact that he had sense, both because he was her brother, and because Komui showed it from time to time. Not often, but sometimes.)

_~~Theme and Variation~~_

"Great, now we finally have you two in the same room at the same time." Komui's voice was rather lackadaisical, and it made Lenalee twitch and want to kick her brother.

It had taken _two __**hours**_ to finally get both Kanda and Lenalee into the office at the same time. And Lenalee was furious. The whole debacle could have ended with Komui keeping Kanda in his office until Lenalee came, but no~, that didn't happen and the whole thing kept turning in one great big vicious circle until the finally caught each other at her brother's office.

"Yes brother," Lenalee sighed. "Will you go over the mission specs already?"

"Jeez Lena, you don't have to be so mean to your brother!" Komui was crying crocodile tears, and Lenalee could tell that Kanda was getting just as annoyed- if not more than -she was.

"Just get on with it," Kanda growled, a hand resting over Mugen as a subtle threat.

"Alright, alright," Komui huffed, tears gone. "No need to get huffy Kanda." He shuffled around his desk, moving documents and such aside before producing two manila folders, handing one to Lenalee, and the other to Kanda, waiting patiently for them to open the folders.

"Your mission is in Southern Italy…"

_**~~Allegro's Crescendo~~**_

Okay, if you didn't get it with the ending line, that's alright. But, remember how I said the Ghost of Mater Arc was going to be glossed over? Yeah, about that... Because of a subtle change of plans, and my going through that Arc again, that Arc is actually needed for character development for both Kanda and Lenalee, as well as some minor plot purposes. With any luck, it'll be just one chapter, so it won't be too long to go over.

Also, so you guys know, because I know some of you want to see Cross and Allegro again, they will be coming back after the Ghost of Mater Arc. Rhode's reappearance will be, obviously, Rewinding Town Arc, and Erika's is still undecided.

One last thing: in the near future of the story, there will be slightly graphic material. It's not within the next two chapters, but it is coming up. I am giving you ample warning that way no one can complain about it. There will also be a **bolded** warning at the start of the chapter so you know when it occurs.

Thanks~! Please leave a review, and I will see you guys in a months' time after I return from my trip! ^_^

~~Paw-Chan Signing Out~~


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